As part of a small army of alcoholics wandering Bradford's streets, Keith Cordingley's was a sad and pathetic existence.

Each and every day he followed the same routine. He would wake at dawn and begin scouring the streets around pubs and off licences for half-drunk cans or bottles of beer and stubbed out dog-ends to smoke.

After having the day's first drink with his oldest friend Terrence Russell, they would often seek out a vicar or other charitable soul from who they would cadge a sandwich.

For the rest of the day, they would gather with other street drinkers in hang-outs such as Centenary Square, squabbling over bottles of cider and cheap cans of super-strength beer.

In the weeks before his death, Cordingley and Russell were regularly joined by a streetwise 11-year-old who would trail after them around the city and even stay the night at their shabby flat in Easby Road.

And it was Cordingley's relationship with this boy which led to his death.

He was the son of a former girlfriend of Russell who regularly turned up on his doorstep after running away from home.

Only a week before Cordingley's death, she and a group of men tracked down Russell and gave him a beating because of his friendship with the boy.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Cordingley - who had a previous conviction for sex offences - made a sexual advance towards the boy which resulted in Russell's violent attack.

Blood splatters on his shoes and trousers indicated the force with which he had kicked and stamped on the 50-year-old's head.

Eyewitness Jacob Riley, 34, who found Cordingley slumped on the stairs of the Beechfield Hotel in Easby Road, said: "He was caked in blood.

"It was all over his head and on his clothes - he was a real mess. He was in a daze and kept pacing up and down but it was a real shock when I heard he had died - he didn't seem that badly hurt at the time."

Sergeant Dave McHugh, who worked on the case, said: "The thing is, I am sure that had Mr Cordingley not have died, the pair would have still been friends to this day."

The police probe uncovered evidence of Russell attacking him twice before and, years earlier, Cordingley was convicted of chasing him with a knife.

Mr Riley revealed that two months before his death Cordingley had turned up at the Beechfield Hotel in a bloodied condition saying he had been attacked and staff called an ambulance.

Even after the attack which led to his death, Cordingley insisted he did not want to press charges.

The pair had been pals since childhood - a 30-year relationship revolving around their addiction to alcohol.

"They were both chronic alcoholics. Their normal daily routine would be to go out, get some alcohol and begin drinking from the early morning," said Sgt McHugh.

"They would get drunk all day, every day. They were completely dependent on alcohol."

Although the finger of suspicion swung in Russell's direction, he denied the attack and a murder investigation was launched. "It was a painstaking operation," said Sgt McHugh.

"We had to make sure that every possible avenue of inquiry was covered."

After trawling through closed-circuit television footage, officers were able to pinpoint Russell to the scene at the time. And a closer listen to the recording of a bystander's 999 call immediately after the attack revealed Cordingley's voice in the background, speaking of Russell's involvement.

"And when forensic experts studied the flat and Russell's footwear and clothing, it put his involvement beyond doubt."

Sgt McHugh said: "Keith Cordingley had a sad life and lived by himself for a long time. He had little contact with his family and lived a nomadic existence."