A man who admitted the "cold-blooded public execution" of a mother of one at the supermarket where she worked just before Christmas has been jailed for at least 30 years.

Neville John Hord, 44, pleaded guilty to murdering Jodie Willsher, who was stabbed to death in front of horrified shoppers in an Aldi store in Skipton, North Yorkshire, on December 21 last year.

On Thursday, Bradford Crown Court heard that the motive for the attack by Hord, who was the ex-partner of Mrs Willsher's mother Nicole Dinsdale, was "revenge".

Prosecutor Peter Moulson QC told the court how Hord stabbed mother-of-one Mrs Willsher several times in the store before he was stopped and restrained by members of the public.

He said it was a "cold-blooded public execution perpetrated for the purpose of revenge".

The prosecutor said the attack was witnessed by many people, including a child as well as caught on CCTV.

Mr Moulson said Hord was the ex-partner of Mrs Willsher's mother, Nicole Dinsdale, and his motive was "revenge".

He said the attack was pre-planned and the defendant also took an axe with him to the supermarket.

Mr Moulson said Hord told police: "Jodie made things very difficult in my and her mother's relationship."

He said the defendant admitted putting a tracking device on Mrs Willsher's car and had been planning the killing for two weeks, buying a pistol crossbow as an "option weapon".

The prosecutor said Hord admitted he went to the store to kill Jodie and told officers he thought she had smiled at him as they made eye contact in the supermarket before he stabbed her.

He said the defendant admitted taking the axe into the store as "back up, just in case".

In a statement read to the court, Mrs Willsher's husband Malcolm, said his life and that of his daughter Megan had been ripped apart.

He said Megan and her daughter had an "unbreakable bond".

Mr Willsher said his daughter has told him: "I hate you daddy for not bringing mummy back."

He described how his daughter had been looking forward to opening her Christmas presents with her mother and the family had a trip to Disneyland planned on Boxing Day.

Mr Willsher said: "I'm so scared he'll get out and do something to Megan."

At an earlier hearing, Hord's family passed a statement to the media via his lawyers in which they expressed their "sincere condolences" to Mrs Willsher's family and added: "No words can convey our sorrow for this tragic turn of events."

Sentencing Hord to a minimum term of 30 years behind bars, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC told Hord he was "truly and horribly rotten to the core".

He said: "You sentenced her, in your mind, to death."

The judge said: "You chose a time and a place to, in effect, execute; to kill; to murder."

He said the killing was calculated to cause the "maximum pain, horror, shock and trauma".

The judge told Hord: "The high probability is that you will never be released from prison."

He said: "Malcolm's fears for Megan perhaps can be laid to rest."

Speaking after the hearing Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Mark Pearson, of the Cleveland and North Yorkshire Major Investigation team, said: “Neville Hord planned and carried out a horrific attack on Jodie Willsher while she was working in a busy supermarket in the run up to Christmas.

“His terrible actions have devastated a family, leaving a mother without a daughter, a husband without a wife and a young girl without her mother.

“No sentence could ever compensate for their loss. My thoughts are with the family at this very difficult time.”

T/DCI Pearson added: “This incident had a very significant impact upon members of the public who were going about their Christmas shopping that day, as well as on Jodie’s colleagues in the supermarket.

“I pay tribute to the people who have assisted the police investigation by providing witness statements, and especially those who bravely went to Jodie’s aid in an attempt to stop the attack and save Jodie’s life.

“Both Jodie’s family and the people who witnessed this traumatic incident have been provided with the necessary support.

“However, if anyone feels they are struggling to cope, they are urged to seek help from Supporting Victims.”

Supporting Victims can be contacted on 01609 643100 or go to www.supportingvictims.org.

* The Craven Herald has removed the picture of Hord from an earlier version of this story at the request of Mrs Willsher's family. We would like to apologise for any upset caused by the publication of Neville Hord's photograph.