Rikki Neave: Accused admits series of crimes but denies murder

Rikki Neave's body was found near his Peterborough home on 29 November 1994

A man accused of killing a six-year-old boy had a "warped view" of the police because of his father, a court heard.

James Watson, 40, the son of a former police officer, admitted a string of thefts and burglaries carried out since he was a teenager.

He was 13 and considered "vulnerable" at the time Rikki Neave's body was discovered in woodland in Peterborough on 29 November, 1994.

Mr Watson, on trial at the Old Bailey in London, denies murder.

The jury heard how Mr Watson was living in a children's home after his father, a serving police officer with Cambridgeshire Police, was arrested and subsequently jailed.

While at the home, in January 1995, Mr Watson stole track signal detonators that gave off a loud noise, and laid them on a railway line.

He told the court: "It was fun. It reads worse than I remember it."

James Watson (right) gave evidence as his trial at the Old Bailey and was questioned by his lawyer Jennifer Dempster QC (left)

Mr Watson said that "a lot" of his crimes had been to get arrested when his life was not going well.

He told the court: "I went to a police station, that is the only place I have been where people ask: 'Are you OK? Are you alright?'"

Jurors heard his "warped view" of police was formed from his experience of his father and being taken into care.

In January 2009, Mr Watson broke into a British Transport Police station and stole items including cuffs and batons before setting fire to the property store and making off on a bicycle.

He said: "I was very angry at the police, the police station bore the brunt of that."

The defendant was also asked about a 2018 conviction for sexual assault on a man, and admitted a number of thefts and burglaries.

Police on the scene shortly after the Rikki Neave's body was found in Peterborough in 1994

He said: "There was a lot of breaking into sheds. There was an amount of burglaries, a lot of cars.

"When I was in the children's home I would go out with other children and steal a car and set fire to it. It was fun at the time."

With one exception, he had always previously admitted the offences, jurors were told.

He said: "I wanted them to know it was me. Some of the crime I have done was to get in trouble. I have never lied to the police."

The trial continues.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [e-mail]