Grandson confesses hammer killing

Phyliss Deane was found after she staggered from the holiday home

A 26-year-old man has admitted killing his grandmother by bludgeoning her with a hammer in Devon.

Phyliss Deane, 70, from Newton Abbot, died after she was found with serious head injuries at a holiday home in Shaldon where she worked as a cleaner.

Russell Deane, of Torquay, Devon admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court.

Deane was remanded in custody for sentencing next week.

Mrs Deane's lifeless body was found on a wall near a shingle beach after the dying grandmother staggered from the house in June last year.

She was airlifted to hospital where she died.

It is thought Russell Deane had been waiting for her to turn up at the property when he lashed out with the hammer.

Prosecutor Martin Meeke, QC, said: "The Crown has the reports of two consultant psychiatrists who agree that this defendant suffers from paranoid schizophrenia."

He said Deane would receive a hospital order when he was sentenced.