'Vampire' murder appeal fails

Matthew Hardman had his first bid to appeal rejected in January

A teenager found guilty of murdering his elderly neighbour and drinking her blood in a vampire ritual has lost an attempt to challenge his conviction.

Mathew Hardman, 18, had his first application for leave to appeal rejected in January.

Hardman, then 17, from Anglesey, north Wales, was jailed in August 2002 for a minimum of 12 years at Mold Crown Court for killing 90-year-old Mabel Leyshon at her home.

His latest application for leave to appeal was rejected by three judges - Lord Justice Mantell, Mr Justice Butterfield and Mrs Justice Cox.

The judges rejected a submission that the trial judge wrongly allowed potentially "devastating" evidence to go before the jury.

Mabel Leyshon was found murdered in November 2001

Hardman's mother Julie left the court in tears and did not comment on the outcome of the hearing.

During Hardman's trial, the jury was told that the Coleg Menai art student, from Llanfairpwll, removed his victim's heart in a "macabre" ritual.

But throughout the hearing, he denied ever harming her.

Hardman lived yards away from Mrs Leyshon and had been her paper boy.

The prosecution alleged that Hardman was obsessed with vampires and the occult.

Mrs Leyshon's body was found on 25 November, 2001, when a meals-on-wheels volunteer visited her home.