A MAN who killed his father while sleepwalking is hoping to be set free.

Jules Lowe was cleared of murdering his 83-year-old father Eddie on the grounds that he was temporarily insane and was sectioned under mental health laws at Manchester Crown Court.

Now Lowe, aged 32, is planning to use human rights legislation to win his freeedom.

His lawyer Simon Blakebroughsaid Lowe would not be a threat to society if he was released. Lowe is in Manchester Prison until a place in a secure psychiatric unit is available. Mr Blakebrough said prosecution and defence experts seemed to conclude that if he abstained from alcohol, the major trigger for his sleepwalking, the likelihood of a sleepwalking episode would be cut.

His legal team is now investigating whether the judge's order was compatible with Lowe's right to liberty under the Human Rights Act.

Lowe's father was found dead at home in Windmill Lane, Walkden, in October, 2003. He denied murder on the grounds of "automatism".