A paranoid schizophrenic, accused of torching a manor causing more than £1m worth of damage, has been cleared - after his confession was declared inadmissible.

Anthony Lyons was formally found not guilty of arson by recorder Judge Harold Wilson at Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

The case against Lyons, 33, of High Street, Sutton Courtenay, hinged on a confession the day after fire gutted the Lady Place mansion in the village. Lyons was squatting in the stable block of the mansion owned by Reading University who were trying to evict him.

But on August 28 last year, a blaze ripped through the house, which was empty at the time, gutting the building.

Lyons admitted causing the fire and others in a police interview the following day.

He has since been sectioned and appeared in court accused of arson with intent to endanger life, two counts of arson, criminal damage and attempted arson. Judge Wilson said the confession could not be admissible as it would jeopardise Lyons' chance of a fair trial.

He said: "The evidence from the psychiatrists is that the defendant is and was suffering from a mental illness. Fairness towards the accused outweighs the consideration of public safety."

Judge Wilson gave the ruling after a day-and-a-half of legal arguments at the court.

He had heard Lyons was interviewed without an adult present at the police station. The court heard the police were not at fault because he appeared "normal" but with his problems an adult should have been present.

In the interview, Lyons talked of "having to get rid of spirits" and said a ghost had made him set fire to a car.

He also referred to "experiments" at the mansion.

Two psychiatrists, who gave evidence, diagnosed Lyons as a paranoid schizophrenic.

Story date: Thursday 15 April

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