Man killed woman in fire attack

The children dropped about 50ft from Amina Ali's council flat

A man has admitted killing a woman who threw two of her grandchildren to safety from her fourth floor flat before dying in a fire.

Amina Ali, 56, died in an arson attack at her flat in Mount Street, Sharrow in Sheffield last February.

On Tuesday, Abdirisak Hussein pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

The court heard that Hussein suffers from schizophrenia and he was remanded in custody until sentencing in March.

Hit the ground

During the fire, Mrs Ali dropped a 14-month-old boy into the arms of a passer-by. He was unhurt.

She also dropped her six-year-old granddaughter who was seriously injured when she hit the ground but has now recovered.

At Sheffield Crown Court, Hussein, aged 36 from Cliff Street in Sheffield, denied murdering Mrs Ali and the prosecution accepted his guilty plea to manslaughter.

Hussein also pleaded guilty to one count of arson with intent to endanger the life of Mrs Ali's husband.

Jeremy Richardson QC, prosecuting, said: "There's ample evidence to reveal that this defendant suffers from a severe form of schizophrenia with delusions."

The judge, Mr Justice Andrew Smith, agreed to adjourn the case, which he described as "desperately sad".

He stressed that all sentence options remained open.