A family has vowed to fight to stop a killer inheriting the six-figure fortune of the man he strangled.

Solicitors for Dominic Dalton are preparing to go to court to claim the estate of Bernard Murphy, estimated to be worth £250,000.

But Mr Murphy's family said they would contest the claim and said Dalton lost the right to the money when he strangled the pensioner with his dressing gown cord.

Hairdresser Dalton, 42, was jailed for six years earlier this week after admitting the manslaughter of his former lover on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

A court heard he snapped after years spent caring for Mr Murphy, 79, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

They had lived together in Crown Street, Brighton, for several years and Mr Murphy had named Dalton as the main beneficiary of his will.

Solicitors representing Dalton said the case was tragic for all concerned but said their client was entitled to pursue his claim against the estate.

A spokesman for Martin Cray and Co said the application was still being considered.

He said: "Obviously Mr Dalton cared for Mr Murphy and the deceased wanted Mr Dalton to have the estate. He made that very clear to the family some years ago.

"The will was made years before Mr Murphy's death. He is effectively the sole beneficiary although one member of the family is also mentioned in the will.

"All Mr Murphy's close relatives predeceased him. We certainly sympathise with the surviving family and are in no way criticising them but feel the deceased's intentions were perfectly clear."

But Mr Murphy's family said even if they could not inherit the estate they would rather it went anywhere else than to the man who killed him.

The estate comprises Mr Murphy's house in Crown Street - estimated at between £200,000 and £250,000, plus more than £35,000 in his bank account.

A spokesman for the family said: "This is the final insult. They feel it's wrong that he kills their uncle and then inherits his money as a result. They will not let this go.

"They accept that in the early days there may have been a sexual relationship between the two but it was never a completely comfortable gay partner relationship.

"When Dalton moved in he was paid £50 a week to cook, clean and iron. The feeling is that he took advantage of Mr Murphy's good nature and advancing years."

The family also criticised the six-year sentence imposed by a judge at Lewes Crown Court as too lenient.

Nephew Duncan Milner, 47, of Kemp Town, said: "Six years for taking a life is just not long enough.

We expected it to be a lot longer. Bunny (Mr Murphy) is dead now and if he had been cared for properly would have had many more years before him.

"Dominic will spend about four years in prison and will be a free man again. Bunny's family will never get over this.

"All we heard in court was how much Dominic suffered. But he dominated Bunny and kept his family away from him.

"Bunny and Dominic were not gay lovers. They were both gay but it was a paid-for relationship. Dominic was paid to be his housekeeper."

Mr Murphy had a number of nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews scattered throughout Britain and Ireland.

Originally from Dublin, Mr Murphy was a hairdresser to the stars in the Forties, regularly coiffeuring Maureen O'Hara and Paulette Goddard.

He moved to London with partner Jack Kennedy and set up a salon styling Sixties icons such as Una Stubbs and Dora Bryan.

He and Mr Kennedy were together for 35 years before Mr Kennedy's death from a heart attack.

Dalton's murder trial was halted by the judge who ruled that psychiatric evidence showed he was not in his right mind at the time of the offence.