THE case of a man convicted of shooting dead a teacher on his own doorstep 15 years ago is to be referred to the Court of Appeal.

Andrew Adams, now 35, of Newcastle, was jailed for life in 1993 after being convicted at Newcastle Crown Court of murdering Jack Royal, of Sunniside, Gateshead, in 1990.

The prosecution maintained it was a revenge attack following the death of another man two years earlier.

But now Criminal Cases Review Commission, the independent body set up to investigate possible miscarriages of justice, has referred the case to the Court of Appeal.

A spokesman for the commission said: "Having investigated a significant number of issues, including disclosure to the defence and various aspects of the conduct of the trial, the commission has decided to refer the case back to the Court of Appeal."

Adams has already appealed against his conviction, but it was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, in January 1998.

He applied to the commission that year and his legal team made its final submissions in May 2003.

Adams, a former aircraft engineer, who is being held at Frankland Prison, Durham City, was yesterday meeting his legal team.

One of the campaigners hoping to free Adams, family friend Anne Laws, of Newcastle, said hopes were rising that he could be freed.

"We don't know how long it will take to get him home. We have learned over the years to control our emotions and wait for it to actually happen."

It was believed that Mr Royal, described as a "quiet family man'', was shot dead in revenge for the death of scrap dealer David Thompson.

Mr Royal was alleged to have stabbed Mr Thompson 17 times and was tried twice. The first time the jury failed to reach a verdict and he was acquitted after his retrial in 1988.