Play all audios:
A murderer who stabbed his long term friend through the heart has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25-years-and-188-days. Andrew Clark stabbed John 'Bamber' Donaldson in
the chest and the abdomen in a row over his mountain bike, on November 21, last year. Mr Donaldson, 34, managed to pick himself up from the ground on Lealholm Walk, in Whale Hill, and
stagger to his friend's home for help. He told Bernadette McElvaney: "I've been stabbed." The knife wound in his chest was 14cm deep and had penetrated his heart. He died
later that evening in Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital. Clark, 39, fled the scene, later claiming that he didn't realise his friend was seriously injured. During his
trial, he claimed he didn't attack Mr Donaldson but was "frightened for his life" as his victim attacked him. Clark had spent time with Mr Donaldson that day, but he became
increasingly angry after Mr Donaldson borrowed his mountain bike to go buy some lemonade from Jay's News on Birchington Avenue. In court Clark claimed he had bought the bike for Mr
Donaldson - but a witness said she heard him say: "Where's my f****** bike?" as he turned up outside Ms McElvaney's home. Mr Donaldson was inside her house on Lealholm
Walk, but he went out to tell Clark to go away, when he turned up for the third time in a Mercedes, beeping his horn. An argument broke out and Mr Donaldson began hitting the Mercedes with a
baseball bat. Clark had taken the car from his friend Katie Duffy, without her knowledge. He got out and the scuffle continued further down the street. Clark stabbed his friend - leaving
him collapsed on the ground. He threw the baseball bat that Mr Donaldson had used at Ms McElvaney's window and stashed the knife back at Ms Duffy's home. It was later found with
his DNA on it. A jury found him guilty of murder on Wednesday, May 21; in addition to the possession of a bladed article; and criminal damage. On Thursday, Clark stood in the dock agitated,
and throwing a yellow ball in the air. The court heard that he has previous convictions for violence against an ex-partner and for dangerous driving. A statement from Mr Donaldson's
mother, Angela Hogg, was read out to the court. She said that her family will never forget November 22, when a police officer knocked on her door to tell her that her son was dead. "Our
hearts were broken into a million pieces," the statement read. They say time is a great healer. How can anyone get over this? There's a big gap in our family now, especially at
celebrations. John did things his own way. He was a character. I feel we are serving a life sentence." In mitigation, John Elvidge said Clark suffers from depression and has made
suicide attempts in the past, adding that Clark himself was a victim of a crime previously, when he was assaulted and kidnapped. He is now "hypervigilant and suffers from PTSD," Mr
Elvidge added. The defence barrister listed the family deaths that Clark has suffered - his brother in 2006; another brother in 2012; he found his sister dead in 2023; and his father died
last year. Clark stood squeezing the yellow ball, and wouldn't look at Judge Jonathan Carroll, who told him: "John Donaldson was a longstanding friend of yours. During that day,
you took on a grievance over an utterly trivial matter - the use of your bicycle by Mr Donaldson. "You made an utter nuisance of yourself. You repeatedly sounded your horn outside the
house that Mr Donaldson was in. He came out to speak to you. I accept that Mr Donaldson played a part in the violence, using a baseball bat to inflict damage on the car you came in.
"There is no doubt at all that you brought a knife to the scene. I accept that there was no premeditated intention to kill. You inflicted two knife wounds. The fatal injury went into
his heart. At no time have you accepted any responsibility or shown any remorse." The judge told Clark, of Ainthorpe Road in Eston, that he will serve all of the 25-years-and-188-days,
before he is eligible to be considered for parole. After the sentencing, Bamber Donaldson's grandma, Hazel Kettlewell said that she was pleased with the sentence. As she walked out of
the courtroom with the rest of Mr Donaldson's family, Ms Kettlewell said: "It's been horrendous, the trial. I'm glad it's over. I'm glad he got that
sentence." FOR DAILY NEWS FROM TEESSIDE'S COURTS DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX, GO HERE TO SIGN UP TO OUR FREE COURT NEWSLETTER JOIN TEESSIDE LIVE'S WHATSAPP COMMUNITY FOR TOP STORIES
AND BREAKING NEWS SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR PHONE Teesside Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community. Through the app, we'll send you the latest breaking news, top
stories, exclusives and much more straight to your phone. To join our community group, you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is CLICK THIS LINK AND SELECT 'JOIN
COMMUNITY'. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Teesside Live team. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions,
and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose
'Exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP COMMUNITY.