A drugs courier who was caught with nearly #5000 worth of cannabis took deadly revenge on a man he thought ''grassed '' on him to police.

Andrew Gillon hacked his former friend Gary Johnstone to death with a spade, chopping part of his head off in a frenzied attack.

Mr Johnstone, 25, was found dead in a pool of blood in a dark lane near his home in January this year.

Yesterday, Gillon, 30, of Priorscroft, Torphichen, West Lothian, was jailed for life after a jury at the High Court, Edinburgh found him guilty of murder.

Gillon was convicted by majority verdict of assaulting Mr Johnstone, 25, of Balbardie Avenue, Bathgate, by striking him repeatedly on the head, face, and body with a spade in a lane in Balbardie Avenue on January 13 this year. Gillon was given an additional three years when he admitted being concerned in the supply of cannabis resin in Lotland Street, Inverness, on October 9 last year and possessing a machete.

During the trial, the court heard that Gillon was stopped by police in Inverness in October last year when a kilo of cannabis resin with a street value of #4900 and a machete were discovered in his rucksack. He said the machete was for gardening.

The court was told Gillon was convinced Mr Johnstone had tipped off police but on the night he died, the pair had patched up their feud and went out drinking.

Later in the evening, however, a fight broke out between the two men after Johnstone accused Gillon of ''giving him hassle'' over the drugs bust.