Sion Jenkins spoke last night for the first time of his six "surreal" years behind bars - and his renewed determination to clear his name.

Jenkins, 46, arrived at his parents' home in Aberystwyth, Wales, yesterday, 24 hours after being freed on £300,000 bail.

He said he was exhausted and emotionally drained but would not be hiding away.

Jenkins arrived at the Victorian house, where he must live until his re-trial for the alleged murder of his teenage foster daughter Billie-Jo, in a BMW 5 series at 3.45pm. His father David smiled at the wheel and his mother Megan sat in the passenger seat.

Walking from the car, Jenkins looked a little greyer than when he was jailed for life for Billie-Jo's murder in July, 1998. His purple T-shirt and jogging bottoms revealed he has also lost weight.

At first hesitant, he gradually gained confidence as he addressed the waiting TV cameras and Press in his first public statement since his release from HMP Belmarsh.

He said the months leading up to the appeal at which his murder conviction was quashed had been "unbearable."

He added: "The last few years have been very tiring. I'm emotionally exhausted but it's good to be home in Aberystwyth."

Jenkins was bailed to live at his parents' house after he was first charged with Billie-Jo's murder in 1997.

The former designate head teacher of William Parker School in Hastings has not been back to the family home in Lower Park Road he shared with Billie-Jo, his wife and four natural daughters since that February day when the schoolgirl was battered to death.

His wife divorced him and moved to Tasmania with the children and her new partner shortly after his conviction.

But if he is a man who has lost everything, he was at pains to stress his determination to regain his freedom and his life.

He said: "Just now I need to find my bearings.

"The last months, years, have been an impossible strain. I need to rest and start preparing for the retrial. It has just been surreal.

"Coming out of Belmarsh was quite traumatic. It was a very long day. I slept reasonably well last night but the journey home was long and I'm absolutely exhausted."

He has been banned from straying more than ten miles from his parents' house as one of several conditions of bail.

He must also not contact his daughters, who may be called to give evidence in the retrial, in connection with the case.

He said he was hopeful the public, and the Press, would allow him space and time to prepare for his next appearance in the dock at the Old Bailey.

Asked whether he will be hiding away he replied: "Certainly not, I will be very much in the community.

"The people of Aberystwyth have been wonderful. While I have been inside the knowledge my parents and family members have been supporting me has meant so much."

Jenkins has always maintained his innocence. Judges at the Appeal Court last month ruled the forensic bloodspot evidence, which was the key to his conviction, is open to question.

He was asked yesterday: "Are you innocent?" He replied with confidence: "Yes, I'm innocent indeed." Asked whether he would be cleared, he replied: "I'm confident and optimistic."