A jilted lover who murdered his former partner and the man she planned to marry has failed in his bid to reduce his prison sentence.

Robert Shreeve, 45, was jailed for 20 years for stabbing to death Margaret Burtenshaw, 48, and John Partridge, 50, at their house in Broad Oak, Wood Farm, Oxford, in 1996.

Yesterday Mr Justice Keith rejected an application from Shreeve, formerly of Bulan Road, Headington, to reduce his sentence. He ordered Shreeve must serve at least 20 years before being eligible for parole.

The trial at Birmingham Crown Court in 1996 heard Shreeve started a relationship with Mrs Burtenshaw after they met on a bus, but she ended the affair after he violently assaulted her.

She later met John Partridge and they planned to marry.

On March 25, 1994, Shreeve waited at the couple's home in Wood Farm then stabbed them both repeatedly, attacking Mr Partridge first, then grabbing Mrs Burtenshaw.