The parents of two teenagers who drowned a student during a violent robbery were condemned by a judge yesterday for plying their sons with alcohol on the night of the murder.

Robert Gill, 17, was beaten and marched to a cash machine, before he was thrown into the freezing Great Ouse in Bedford two days after last Christmas.

Judge John Bevan, QC, criticised the families of the killers, Sean Downes, 19, and Thomas Luddington, 18, and the pubs and clubs that served them. He told Luton Crown Court: “There are elements here of parental responsibility, or the lack of it, and also the responsibility of the clubs and pubs in Bedford – in particular the Bricklayers Arms, Midas and New York New York.

“If premises like that put financial gain ahead of the appalling damage they do to youngsters, in particular Robert Gill, they should have a feeling of shame about the events of Boxing Day in Bedford. They should examine their consciences.

“The parents and grandparents, according to Luddington and Downes, also plied them with drink and they must have known that those two were liable to be aggressive in drink.”

The court heard that Robert, a shy engineering student, was on a night out with his brother Duncan Ratcliffe when he was attacked by three youths in a 30-minute ordeal.

The brothers had been drinking at a pub in Bedford town centre on Boxing Day evening before they went on to the New York New York nightclub. Robert, unused to drinking, was ejected at 1am on December 27 after he was sick. At about the same time, Downes, Luddington and a 15-year-old – now 16 – were refused entry.

Timothy Spencer, QC, for the prosecution, described the three as “predators”. Downes and Luddington accosted Robert and pinned him to nearby railings. Downes and the 15-year-old marched him to a cash machine and forced him to enter his PIN but were unable to withdraw money because he had insufficient funds.

All three then took him to the riverside. CCTV footage showed him trying desperately to escape, but they held on to him. Other images showed the youths shouting at him to get up from the ground before they kicked him down again.

They then dragged him by his hair to Engineer’s Bridge over the Great Ouse and demanded that he hand over the PIN for his bank card. Scared for his life, Robert pleaded that he had given them the correct number but they did not believe him.

Downes and Luddington then threw him into the cold, fast-flowing river. Robert’s body was not found until eight days later.

Judge Bevan said: “There was at least half an hour of robbery, false imprisonment, bullying, punching, humiliating and terrifying a drunk, naive, harmless, nonaggressive, 17-year-old student.”

Luddington had been serving a community order and was on licence for committing a robbery. He was first convicted as a juvenile when he was 12 and had served two custodial sentences. Downes’s offences dated back to 2003 and mainly involved vehicle crime. The court heard that in the hours before the killing Downes had consumed 50 units of alcohol, mostly at home.

Robert, of Wilstead, Bedfordshire, was adopted at the age of 9 after the deaths of his parents.

Downes was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 17 years. Luddington was detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure for a minimum of 18 years. They were both also jailed for a minimum of 18 months for robbery and two years for false imprisonment.

A 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also found guilty of robbery, false imprisonment and manslaughter. He was acquitted of murder. He was sentenced to four and a half years in custody.

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