A teenager who killed his dominatrix mother's lover in a row over a pea-shooter has been jailed for two years.

Scott Wadman, 24, died from stab wounds after the fight in Gibbon Road, Newhaven.

Yesterday, after the sentence was announced at Lewes Crown Court, Mr Wadman's heartbroken mother Kim vowed to fight for killer Liam Ransom to be kept behind bars for longer.

The court heard how a fight broke out after Ransom's mother Deena McCormack returned home from a night out with her boyfriend.

Mrs McCormack, who was described in court as a professional dominatrix, ordered her lover from the house when a violent argument broke out after he was hit on the forehead by a pellet from a pea-shooter.

He went outside and smashed up her car before returning and grabbing a knife.

Ransom, 18, said he grappled with Mr Wadman who slipped on a puddle of blood, piercing himself with the blade as he fell.

Mr Wadman was taken to hospital where he died.

Ransom ran from the scene but later went to the police with a solicitor.

He was arrested on suspicion of murder but later the charge was reduced to manslaughter on the grounds he was defending his mother. He admitted the charge.

Christopher Van Hagen, defending, said: "This whole ghastly mess started from an innocent practical joke.

"My client has shown sadness and remorse. There are no crocodile tears here."

The judge, Mr Justice Aikens, told the teenager: "It is accepted you acted in self defence of your mother but you went too far." He jailed Ransom for two years.

The dead man's mother, Mrs Wadman, from Brighton, yesterday said she would pressure the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to push for a stiffer sentence.

She said: "My son has been robbed of his life. This killer should have been sentenced as a murderer."

The CPS plans to meet Mrs Wadman to discuss the possibility of an appeal.