A man who admitted killing a homeless 54-year-old from Dagenham whose body was found next to a burnt-out vehicle in Goodmayes has been jailed.

Adil Mahmood, 37, had beaten Hassaman Ettakkal to death before setting fire to the BMW which had false registration plates and had been used by local homeless people.

Today at the Old Bailey he was jailed for eight-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to manslaughter at an earlier hearing in November.

He also admitted arson and was jailed for 18 months to run concurrently.

In handing down his sentences, the judge made a hospital direction under section 45a of the Mental Health Act so Adil can continue to receive hospital treatment.

Firefighters who were called to the scene of the fire in Castleton Road, Goodmayes, found Hassaman lying five feet away from the car in just his boxer shorts on May 29 last year.

He had no burns and had appeared to have been dragged out of the car before the fire.

Hassaman was pronounced dead at the scene and a post mortem gave his cause of death as blunt force trauma that had ruptured his spleen.

Adil, from Mitcham, south London, was traced through extensive enquiries and analysis of CCTV and arrested on June 4.

He was initially charged with murder and arson with intent to endanger life but his plea of guilty to manslaughter was accepted by the prosecution.

DI Michael Dougall, who led the investigation, said: “This sentence reflects the seriousness of the offences Mahmood has committed and takes into consideration his guilty plea coupled with the professional medical treatment he needs.”