Jordan Jobson was jailed for life and told she must serve a minimum of 15 years in jail before she could be considered for parole after a jury found her guilty of the murder of 18-year-old Samantha Madgin.

But Jobson, aged 15, has now been granted leave to challenge the 15-year tariff by the London-based Court of Appeal.

A bid to challenge her murder conviction, on the grounds the defence team should have been able to refer to the bad character of a prosecution witness during the initial trial, was rejected outright by the appeals court.

A date for the appeal hearing is yet to be set.

Jobson had downed vodka and snorted eight lines of cocaine before stabbing Samantha 10 times in a Wallsend back alley.

Newcastle Crown Court was told Samantha was acting as a peacemaker and was trying to pull her friends away from the area when she was attacked.

Samantha, who had given birth to her son Callum just 10 weeks earlier, collapsed and died almost instantly after suffering 10 stab wounds to her face, arms and chest.

Jobson, of Holywell Avenue, Walker, Newcastle, fled the scene and hid from police for four days before handing herself in.

She admitted a charge of manslaughter but denied a more serious offence of murder.

However, she was convicted unanimously by a jury after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.

Judge David Hodson, the Recorder of Newcastle, jailed Jobson for life and said she must serve a minimum of 15 years in custody – three years more than the starting point for juvenile killers.

Jailing her, at the time Judge Hodson said: "This case is yet another tragic example of the all too familiar legacy of young people taking excess quantities of alcohol, mixing their drink with dangerous drugs and then resorting to the use of knives at will.

"You intentionally launched a violent attack with a knife on Samantha.

"You inflicted ten stab wounds, with six other injuries described as defensive injuries.

"The fatal blow was a deep and penetrative wound to the chest, which almost immediately resulted in a young 18-year-old dead, and a baby of just 68 days without a mother."