A PARANOID schizophrenic who stabbed a dog-walker through the heart has had his murder conviction quashed.

Damian Neaven, who was jailed for life five years ago for stabbing David Huitson, 53, to death, had his conviction overturned yesterday.

Appeal Court judges instead ruled Neaven, 27, was guilty of manslaughter after hearing fresh psychiatric evidence that, unbeknown to him and others, he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia when he stabbed Mr Huitson.

Overturning his life sentence, Lord Justice Rix, sitting with Mr Justice Mackay and Judge Ann Goddard, ordered him to be detained indefinitely in Ashworth Special Hospital, from which he will only be released when doctors are satisfied he poses no public danger.

Neaven, of Gosforth, Newcastle, never denied attacking Mr Huitson, whom he had subjected to a four-year vendetta, but at his trial put forward claims that he acted in self defence.

On March 4, 2001, Neaven stabbed his victim twice in the chest as he was out walking his dog. One blow entered his heart and Mr Huitson died two days later.

Neaven later admitted his self defence claims were "wholly false" and that he had been watching his victim for some time, planning to "do him".

Crown lawyers had resisted the downgrading of Neaven's conviction from murder to manslaughter on the basis that he had taken the "tactical" decision to claim self defence at trial and there had been no mention of any possibility that his responsibility for the crime was "diminished".

However, describing the case as quite exceptional, Lord Justice Rix said that neither Neaven's lawyers, the trial judge, nor Neaven knew he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time.