Blind killer Yvonne Sleightholme today lost a crucial round in her fight to clear her name.

The High Court dashed the 48-year-old's hopes of taking her case back to the Court of Appeal, almost ten years after she was convicted of shooting dead Ryedale farmer's wife Jayne Smith.

Two judges threw out an application on behalf of Sleightholme for leave to apply for a judicial review of a decision by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

The commission refused last year to refer her case to the Court of Appeal.

Campaigners David Hamilton and Margaret Leonard, who have been seeking to prove that Sleightholme is a victim of a miscarriage of justice, said they were "disappointed but not surprised" by the decision.

Margaret Leonard said: "This is not the end of the road."

She said she and Mr Hamilton were examining fresh evidence with a view to a fresh application to go to the Court of Appeal.

Sleightholme, who has been hysterically blind since her arrest for the murder in 1998 in a farmyard at Salton, near Malton, was led into court today for the hearing. The judges said they found the commission's decision to be fair and reasonable.

The Judges also made reference to a "confession" which they said had been made by Sleightholme to her barrister and solicitor before she changed her mind and pleaded not guilty.

Margaret Leonard said afterwards that Sleightholme had not confessed, but it had been suggested to her at one stage by her barrister that she should change her plea to one of admission on the grounds of diminished responsibility. She said Sleightholme had done this but without understanding the implications of the barrister's suggestion.

Sleightholme said in a statement, issued by Margaret Leonard: "I was very frightened before the trial and his suggestion was not what I was expecting. You trust a lawyer to give you professional advice without always understanding what they are saying."

She added: "I want justice for myself and want justice for Jayne."

Updated: 15:18 Friday, January 12, 2001