The killer of schoolgirl Claire Tiltman, who was brutally stabbed to death in a Greenhithe alleyway more than 20 years ago, will have his appeal against conviction heard next month.

Colin Ash-Smith, 47, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years in December last year for what was described as a frenzied, rapid and brazen attack on the teenager.

The former milkman, who lived in Swanscombe, pounced on Claire as she walked along London Road just four days after her 16th birthday in January 1993.

She was on her way to a friend's home nearby, having left the home she shared with parents Lin and Cliff Tiltman in Woodward Terrace, Stone.

The savage murder remained unsolved until Ash-Smith was convicted after a five-week trial at the Inner London Crown Court in December.

The hunt for her killer was one of the biggest murder investigations in Kent Police's history and Ash-Smith, who was said to be a knife-obsessed loner, was questioned by officers at the time.

However, he was only charged following a cold case review by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate in 2013.

Tragically, Mr and Mrs Tiltman died without ever seeing justice for their only child.

Lawyers on behalf of Ash-Smith lodged his appeal earlier this year and the case will now be heard by three appeal judges at the Royal Courts of Justice in The Strand, London, on November 27.

Claire, who was a pupil at Dartford Grammar School for Girls, suffered nine stab wounds, some up to 15cm deep, before she fled her attacker and collapsed on the pavement in front of passing motorists.

During the trial, the jurors heard Ash-Smith, who knew Claire and her family as members of the Swanscombe and Greenhithe British Legion Club, went to her funeral wearing the same jacket as the night he murdered her.

They were also told that he was later jailed in connection with two other horrific knife attacks on women committed in the area in 1986 and 1995.

By the time of his trial for Claire's murder he had already served 19 years behind bars and was branded a "pure evil predator" by police.

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson attended Ash-Smith's trial and recalled the impact Claire's murder had on her family, friends and residents.

He said: "I am convinced that Ash-Smith is an odious man who should never be released from prison.

"I have nothing but utter contempt for this individual who had been convicted of two savage attacks on local women before he was convicted of Claire Tiltman’s murder.

"I remember how shocked the local community was when this crime was committed and the devastation it inflicted on Claire Tiltman’s family and friends.

"Greenhithe is a safer place with Ash-Smith behind bars."

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