TWO men who killed an Epping Forest College student and her grandmother by setting fire to their flat have been jailed for life.

Jake Sheehan, 20, and David Philip, 19, murdered 17-year-old Shannen Vickers and her 57-year-old grandmother Pauline Adams in their home after having a row over a £15 debt with Mrs Adams's grandson.

Shannen, a popular and much-loved pupil at the college in Loughton, died of smoke inhalation along with her grandmother after Sheehan and Philip poured petrol through the letterbox of their fifth floor flat in Mile End in the early hours of Sunday, February 22.

The attack was the culmination of a vicious dispute between Sheehan, Philip and Mrs Adams's grandson, who also lived at the flat.

The three had been fighting earlier in the evening over the debt, during which Philip threatened to burn the house down – a threat Mrs Adams's grandson did not believe.

Afterwards the pair went to a nightclub, before filling a five-litre container with petrol and setting fire to the flat.

Investigating officer DI Larry Smith of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command at the Met Police said: "When the dispute came to a head between the three, Sheehan and Philip threatened to burn down the family home.

"With callous disregard for life they carried out that threat, setting fire to the house and taking the lives of a beloved grandmother and her granddaughter.

"I would like to pay tribute to the family of Pauline Adams and Shannen Vickers, who have shown great dignity and bravery throughout this trial.

“I know the evidence they have heard has been very difficult and I hope today's conviction can go some way in assisting them as they try to move forward with their lives."

Sheehan, of Ames House, Cranbrook Estate, Bethnal Green, and Philip of Grindley House, Leopold Street, Bow, have been told they should serve a minimum of 25 years in prison.