The man cleared of murdering Hastings schoolgirl Billie-Jo Jenkins is reportedly putting his experience of the criminal justice system to use by studying for a degree in law.

It has been reported that former deputy school headmaster Sion Jenkins has signed up for a masters degree at Portsmouth University.

It is believed Mr Jenkins, who was freed from a life sentence after being cleared in a retrial, will go on to study for a PhD and could pursue a career in lecturing.

Mr Jenkins, 49, is reported to be enthusiastic about his new life as a student and the possibility of increasing his legal knowledge.

Mr Jenkins was jailed for life in 1998 after being found guilty of murdering his foster daughter Billie-Jo by hitting her over the head with a metal tent peg in the garden of their family home. She was 13 at the time.

He was released six years later after being granted a retrial and last year he was cleared by a judge. Two juries had failed to return a verdict when they were asked to consider the case.

After he was cleared Mr Jenkins said: "When I stepped out, I gave thanks to God and I rejoiced that I would be going home.

"It was the Crown's responsibility to persuade the jury of my guilt and they could not do that."

He was divorced by his first wife Lois in 1998. She emigrated to Tasmania with their four daughters.

He now lives in Lymington, Hampshire, with his second wife Christina Ferneyhough.