The deceased named Roberts Buncis was stabbed more than 70 times in the assault in Boston, Lincolnshire, just days before his 13th birthday.

The Jurors at Lincoln Crown Court heard Roberts' wounds were "consistent with an attempt to remove the head".

Marcel Grzeszcz, 15, was ordered to serve a minimum term of 17 years.

Jurors took less than two hours to convict Grzeszcz, who was 14 at the time of the attack in the Fishtoft area on 12 December 2020.

Grzeszcz, who can be named in reports for the first time after anonymity restrictions were lifted, persuaded Roberts to meet by offering him £50 to sell cannabis.

Meanwhile, during the trial, he insisted he had acted in self-defense and had "lost control" when Roberts, whom he accused of bringing a knife to the scene, tried to stab him.

Prosecutor Mary Loram QC told the court there was no evidence Roberts had been armed, and the attack showed a "significant degree of pre-meditation and planning".

The number of injuries and significant suffering suggested Roberts' death was "more than a simple stabbing", she said.