A killer stabbed a "vulnerable and defenceless" pensioner 64 times in an attack in his home.

James Nolan targeted Malcolm Ballantyne at his flat in Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, last August.

The 72 year-old's daughter later discovered her father's body when she came to visit.

Nolan meantime fled to England but was traced following a high-profile media appeal.

While on the run he told a relative he had stabbed a man "loads of times" after the "red mist had come down".

Nolan was jailed for a minimum of 20 years after he pleaded guilty to a murder charge at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday.

It emerged the 33 year-old already had 51 convictions, including for violence and carrying a knife.

Judge Lady Rae told him he was responsible for the death of a "vulnerable and defenceless" old man in what was a "cruel killing".

Mr Ballantyne - known as Malky - was a well-liked figure in Saltcoats. The court heard he had "no known enemies" and was never in bother with the police.

He suffered from poor health, including heart disease, and his daughter Julie often visited to help her father, who lived alone.

The last time she saw Mr Ballantyne, around a day before the murder, he was in "good spirits".

Prosecutor Andrew Brown QC said the motive for the killing on August 21 "remains unclear".

He added it was not known if the pensioner knew Nolan.

A couple of hours after the murder, Nolan, who took valium and alcohol in the hours before the killing, told his mother he had stabbed a man, adding it was a "bad one".

He also told his girlfriend he had to leave the town as he had "been in a fight with boys" from nearby Kilwinning.

The hearing was told Mr Ballantyne suffered a total of 64 stab wounds on the head, neck, chest, arms and back. He also had 40 rib fractures.

It emerged the pensioner had tried to fight off his killer as he had "defensive" injuries.

Nolan fled to Brighton in East Sussex where his father lived. It was there he confessed to his step-sister that he had "gone mad on a guy".

He claimed the "red mist had come down" adding he "stabbed him loads of times and the guy died".

Amid a large-scale probe to catch the killer, a Crimestoppers appeal was then launched with a £10,000 reward. A call was soon received about Nolan admitting to his mother he had stabbed someone in Saltcoats.

His DNA was also found on an item at Mr Ballantyne's flat and on September 14 he was arrested in Brighton for the murder.

The court heard he claimed now to have no memory of the murder.

Sentencing, Lady Rae told Nolan: "Malcolm Ballantyne was a vulnerable, defenceless elderly man brutally killed in an apparently motiveless attack.

"The family (of Malcolm) will never know why you deprived them in such a cruel manner."

After the sentencing, the senior investigating officer in the case, Detective Superintendent Gary Cunningham, said: "This was an extremely violent, unprovoked attack on an elderly man who was well known and respected in the local community and has left his family and friends completely devastated.

"It is hard to imagine how difficult the last year has been for Mr Ballantyne's family, however, I hope that today's verdict provides some comfort and closure to them, knowing that the person responsible will be in custody for a considerable time."