Lifer David Blagdon could soon be transferred to an open prison, just a few miles from his current cell, writes Andrew Ffrench.

On Monday, the Home Office agreed that Blagdon, 47, should be transferred from his cell at Bullingdon Prison, near Bicester, to the more relaxed surroundings of an open prison.

He has spent 21 years behind bars after setting fire to curtains and pews at St Laurence's Church in South Hinksey, Oxford, in 1978, causing £1,200 worth of damage. His solicitor, Kevin O'Gorman, said the most likely destination for Blagdon was Spring Hill at Grendon Underwood, in Buckinghamshire, near Bicester. It specialises in handling prisoners coming to the end of their sen- tences.

Mr O'Gorman said: "Spring Hill is just up the road from Bullingdon and I think it would be the ideal location for David. "I would prefer it if he wasn't returned to Leyhill because that was where he absconded from. I think that would be a backward step."

The Oxford Mail has campaigned for Blagdon's release and a move to open conditions is the first step on the road to freedom.

Mark Flinton, lifer governor at Bullingdon, said Blagdon could be transferred at any time.

He said: "He could be transferred in as little time as a week."

Story date: Wednesday 19 May

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