A paranoid schizophrenic stabbed his mother to death when she banned him from smoking in the house, a judge heard on Monday.

Jarvis Ford, aged 48, stabbed 84-year-old Elizabeth Mary Ford nine times and then slit her throat before attempting to kill himself.

Ford admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Two psychiatrists agreed he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. His plea of not guilty to murder was accepted by the prosecution.

The judge, Mr. Justice John Griffith Williams, made Ford the subject of a mental health order under section 37 of the 1983 Mental Health Act, coupled with a section 41 restriction order.

Ford will be detained in a secure mental health unit without limit of time or until a tribunal rules he is fit to be released.

Chris Clee QC, prosecuting, told Swansea crown court that Ford had suffered from mental illness for many years, but the condition could be controlled by tablets.

However, there had been problems in the past when he reduced the dosage or stopped taking his medication altogether. He had been admitted to hospital several times, once after calling his mother a devil and once after walking in front of a bus in a bid to kill himself.

He said Ford lived with his mother in West Lane, Templeton, and in May of this year they travelled to Cornwall to visit relatives.

Ford understood his illness and telephoned his mental health worker to say he was 'stressed'.

His condition deteriorated and on the way back to Templeton he became lost.

On May 16, he telephoned police to say he thought he had committed a rape in either Swansea or Cornwall, although no such crime had been reported.

Two police officers went to his home and he told them he was 'stressed'. His mother assured them Ford had never assaulted her.

Pembrokeshire social services were contacted and a mental health crisis team visited the house. They left after agreeing to return the following day.

About 4.30 pm, Mrs. Ford telephoned her daughter, also Elizabeth, to say Ford was being aggressive and that he wanted to smoke in the house, which she had banned.

Elizabeth Ford junior telephoned the crisis team and said she thought the situation was deteriorating.

About 9.30 pm, Ford rang his sister and said: "I've got some bad news because I'm going to prison. There's more bad news. Mum's dead.

"She's in the kitchen, on the floor. She would not let me smoke in the house and so I killed her."

When police found her body, she had been stabbed nine times and her throat had been slashed.

Ford was found in a bedroom. He had taken various tablets, but none of them could have killed him. 

He told police that he had killed his mother as he was annoyed that she would not let him smoke.

During interviews, he said he had wanted to 'complete my journey through life' by killing his mother and then himself.

Ford's barrister, Greg Taylor QC, said Ford had graduated in engineering and had been perfectly normal until the age of 24.

Psychiatrist Dr. John Sandford said it would take 'a long, long time' to bring Ford's condition under control.

Mr. Justice Williams said the case was 'a tragedy for everybody'.

He said it was clear that Ford's condition had deteriorated while he had been in Cornwall and then during the journey home. 

He said it seemed the refusal by Mrs. Ford to allow him to smoke had provoked 'a cruel assault on her'.

"The manner of her killing will haunt her family," he added.

He said it was necessary to protect the public and Ford 'will not be released until you are fit to be released'.

After hearing that Ford had more than £87,000 in savings, as well as investments, he ordered Ford to pay his own defence costs.

After the case, Ford's sister issued a statement saying: "This crime against our gentle, much-loved Margaret has devastated her relatives and friends across the world.

"Her death was violent and cruel after a life of love and caring."

She said Ford knew he might endanger others by failing to take his medication.

She added that the family was helping Hywel Dd Health Trust's inquiry into the killing. 

"We find it abhorrent that the Mental Health Act - by providing Jarvis with the right to an annual review - condemns us, the long suffering and devastated family of the victim of a mentally ill killer, to life sentences of fear and annual reminders of the danger we and the general public face," she added.

She said the family would maintain 'our enduring opposition' to her brother ever being released.