ANGRY father Paul Hopewell has condemned as 'a joke' a jail sentence handed out to a 24-year-old man.

Mr Hopewell's 14-year-old son, also called Paul, from Slater Street, Biddulph, drowned in Knypersley Pool.

Stafford Crown Court heard Jason Staples manhandled Paul over a parapet and onto a ledge above a feeder pool at the reservoir.

Staples had done it as a prank to impress two 14-year-old girls, the court heard.

Paul jumped into 11 feet of murky water in fright despite his terrified pleas, he could not swim, and it took firemen three hours to recover his body from the pool.

Staples, formerly of Woodland Street, Biddulph, admitted manslaughter, and was sent to prison for two years.

He was told by judge Mr Justice Hughes he had caused 'untold suffering' to those who loved Paul, and no punishment on Staples could remove that pain.

Paul's father said his son was a 'fun-loving lad' whose life had been wiped out by Staples.

"You kill someone and get two years - where's the justice in that?"

Patrick Thomas, defending, said Staples was unable to understand Paul could not swim, and when the teenager was in the water initially thought he was pretending.

"By the time he realised things were wrong it was too late," he said.