Bride held stabbed brother in her arms as he bled to death.

Andrew and Elaine Corbitt yesterday said their lives will remain forever blighted by the killing at their wedding-day reception party.

Instead of happy memories, Mr Corbitt said, every wedding anniversary takes them back to a night of bloodshed at their home in Rock, Northumberland.

The couple had married at Rock Village Church on January 8, 2005, before taking a number of guests to their farmhouse for a nighttime reception.

But, Newcastle Crown Court, was told that an argument broke out over the volume of the music after 1am. It saw Geoffrey Hearn, the groom's nephew, pick up a knife and confront Jason Howard, the bride's brother. The two clashed, and Mr Howard died.

Hearn, who was cleared of murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter, told the court he picked up a knife to scare off Mr Howard and protect his girlfriend.

He insisted he had never intended to kill, but accidentally caused the fatal injury when he rounded a corner and collided with Mr Howard, stabbing him in the arm. His version of events was later accepted by the judge.

The court heard how Mr Howard, of Milton Keynes, bled to death from a severed artery. His sister held him in her arms as he lay bleeding on the kitchen floor.

The family have already hit out after Hearn's prison transfers led to his grandmother, Joan Corbitt, 70, also of Rock, quitting her post as a volunteer at HMP Acklington.

He was moved there to be closer to home last November, but Mrs Corbitt said she could not face him.