NIGEL Farmer, convicted of murdering two French students in New Cross, lost his “moral compass” after breaking up with his partner and mother of his twin sons.

Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were tied up and stabbed a total of 244 times in Sterling Gardens on June 29 last year.

Farmer, aged 34, of no fixed address, and Dano Sonnex, aged 23, of Etta Street, Deptford, have been convicted of murdering the students.

Painter and decorator Farmer’s life went downhill after he broke up with his partner in October 2007 when she grew tired of his drinking problems and met someone else.

After the split, Farmer twice tried to kill himself by slashing his wrists and was also drinking, smoking cannabis and taking increasing quantities of cocaine.

With his mother's help, Farmer was admitted to Oxleas psychiatric hospital in May last year.

But on May 29 after four days in hospital, during which he was seen banging his head against the walls, he discharged himself, claiming he was not being given the right kind of help.

Prosecuting counsel Crispin Aylett told the Old Bailey during the murder trial that the 34-year-old lost his “moral compass” after becoming involved with the family of co-defendant Sonnex.

Farmer said he met Sonnex and his older brother Bernie in May through a mutual friend, Brendan Cummings, who used to supply Farmer with cocaine.

Sonnex alleged that once Farmer had moved into the Sonnex family home in Deptford last June, the pair began carrying our burglaries and dealing drugs around the area.

Farmer's mother told the court that she had stopped seeing her son because she was afraid of the “bad people” he might bring with him.

Mr Aylett suggested Farmer had enjoyed being seen with “celebrated local criminal” Bernie Sonnex.

It was even claimed he called Bernie Sonnex from Laurent Bonomo’s bedsit in Sterling Gardens to impress his friend as he threatened to chop one of the students’ hands off, something Farmer denied.

After setting fire to the bedsit, Farmer spent the following days staying with friends before he handed himself in at Lewisham police station on July 7.

Witnesses said Farmer appeared drunk and was rubbing cream into his burnt hands.

While waiting to be dealt with, the court heard he allegedly told two women: "I just killed two people and the police don't want to do anything about it."

After he was arrested Farmer told a police doctor he had been spending £60 a day on crack cocaine and £40 a day on heroin.

He claims he only told the doctor this so he could get stronger sedatives.

Farmer has one previous conviction from 1996 for a knifepoint robbery committed with another man, resulting in a three-year prison sentence.