THE family of a pensioner who was stabbed to death whilst walking his dog in Borth have spoken of their heartbreak after claiming they’ve been told that his killer is being allowed to walk the streets – less than four years after the attack.

Retired butcher, Lewis Stone, 71, was walking his dog on the banks of the Leri, near Borth Wild Animal Kingdom, whilst on holiday on 28 February 2019 when he was stabbed three times by David Kenneth Fleet.

Mr Stone – who was from Burton-on Trent but had a holiday home in the area which he had hoped to retire to – died three months later from his injuries.

In September 2019, Fleet, who at the time of the stabbing was living on High Street in Borth, was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Judge Paul Thomas said he would not be released until a Ministry of Justice board determined he was no longer a threat, adding that “public safety will be the highest priority”.

The court previously heard that the then 20-year-old Fleet, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and claimed he launched the attack as otherwise the voices in his head would kill him.

Fleet, now 23, was held at the Caswell Clinic medium secure mental health unit in Bridgend, which is run by Swansea Bay University Health Board.

After the stabbing it emerged Fleet – who had previously been sectioned – had been assessed by mental health services in Ceredigion as being suitable for treatment in the community.

Mr Stone’s family this week contacted the Cambrian News, saying they had been told by a Staffordshire Police family liaison officer that Fleet had now been granted unescorted leave – less than four years after the fatal stabbing.

It is unknown the duration or location of the leave, as authorities refused to confirm Fleet’s current situation.

Mr Stone’s stepdaughter, Vicki Lindsay, told the Cambrian News: “We have recently been informed that the perpetrator has been granted unescorted leave and we were told that they only needed to inform us of his release, not the public, which I find outrageous.

“This is a man they claimed was too mentally unstable to go to prison yet just three years and seven months from when he savagely attacked my stepdad he is now miraculously well enough to be out in the community.

“My concern is that I don’t want any other family to go through what my family have, and still are, going through.

“The public have a right to know.

“I don’t know where I stand putting this out there, but if it saves just one person, saves just one family from going through the heartbreak my family are going through, then the consequences will be worth it in my eyes.”

The Cambrian News approached several public authorities for confirmation on whether Fleet had been granted unescorted leave and what this meant, but no one could comment on the matter.

The Ministry of Justice said that Fleet was only held for a short period of time in prison before being transferred to the care of the NHS and have no further record of him in their system.

Swansea Bay University Health Board, which is in charge of Caswell Clinic, said it would not comment on the matter.

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesperson said: “It’s not for us to comment.”

Hywel Dda University Health Board said: “Due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to comment.”