DISGRACED Lancashire businessman Owen Oyston - serving a six-year sentence for rape - could soon be a free man.

He has told the Citizen that he is hopeful his appeal against the conviction for the rape and indecent assault of a 16-year-old model will be successful.

But he realises he still has a long way to go. "The appeal marks a turning point," he said in a message to The Citizen. "It's very encouraging. I will prove my innocence beyond all doubt."

The appeal date has not been set, but it is likely to be a few months rather than weeks. His wife Vicki, who has fought a tireless campaign to secure an appeal, said on the steps of the Appeal Court in London: "Now we can really start to plan for Owen's release. I am confident we will be successful."

Lord Chief Justice Lord Bingham said there was now "an arguable case" the trial judge "should have given the jury more assistance" when giving Oyston leave to appeal. The judges also admitted new evidence into the case.

Among the new evidence is a raunchy eight-page letter, copies of which were handed to The Citizen by Oyston's barrister, Anthony Scrivener QC. The letter is said to have been written to a boyfriend in Crete by Miss B, the young girl whose tearful account of rape in a four-poster bed at Oyston's castle about five years ago and subsequent total sexual trauma had made six women and two men on the jury at Liverpool Crown Court start crying.

Mr Scrivener told Lord Bingham that the jury had heard Miss B say: "I spent a year of my life trying to forget what happened".

He repeated the reason she gave for not reporting the rape to anyone: "I were ashamed." "I hate everybody. I cannot take discipline. I hate sex."

He reminded Lord Bingham that Mr Justice McCullough, the trial judge, had described the girl as "young, dependent and vulnerable."

Mr Scrivener also read a statement by a housekeeper at the model agency where Miss B was working at the time of the rape. She had read about the case in the newspapers and thought she could guess the identity of Miss B. She came forward after Oyston's trial to claim she had heard Miss B bragging: "I've been to a castle and it was great and I'm going there again."

Meanwhile, Oyston has had to settle back into the routine of Wymott Jail near Leyland - a much better routine than he suffered in the first few weeks at Liverpool's Walton Jail.

One of Oyston's self-appointed guardians at Wymott - a middle-aged tough - said: "He had a very bad time in Liverpool, where the lunatics inside were whipped up by the newspapers. Owen doesn't talk about it much.

"They don't like rich people in Liverpool. I have a little influence around here and a few of us decided that nothing stupid was going to happen to him in here. We planned it before we met him. He turned out to be a great guy, with great ideas.

"He doesn't get one bit of favouritism or special treatment from anyone. It's just as hard for him as for anyone else.

"There's always some new men who want to pick on him and we can't always have a word before they get to him.

" I've been worried about him lately. He was going downhill. You could see he was scared about losing that chance of an appeal. Well, he got the news they had granted him an appeal on his little radio and he's already looking better. But he needs to get out of here soon."

A prison officer confided: "He's by far the oldest inmate, you know. They're always asking him for advice. And I have to say he's sort of quite respected by most of the officers and the inmates. He's always got something to contribute.

"It might be just for the tea and biscuits, for all I know, but he attends both the Sunday services if he can, Catholic and Anglican."

The media tycoon could this year be tasting again his favourite Chardonnay and his favourite dish - home made chips . . . if everything goes to plan.

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