An arsonist who killed a fire safety officer when he set an Aberystwyth hotel ablaze hid a fire extinguisher before setting fire to a linen cupboard, a court has heard.

Damion Harris, of Llanbadarn, had been out drinking before he entered the Ty Belgrave House in the early hours of the morning on 25 July, Swansea Crown Court heard yesterday.

The court heard all 16 guests were asleep when thick smoke began to fill the building after Harris, 31, started a fire in its basement.

The court heard Harris used a cigarette lighter to set fire to a cupboard full of towels and sheets after he sneaked into the hotel around 2am after drinking in a pub and a nightclub.

Harris was caught on CCTV removing a fire extinguisher from a wall in the reception area and hiding it on an upper level before returning downstairs to set a pair of net curtains on fire.

The flames on the curtains self-extinguished but Harris entered the hotel’s basement and then set fire to a cupboard containing linen before making his escape.

Juozas Tunaitis, 48, who was staying at the hotel while working as a fire safety contractor at Aberystwyth University, was the only guest who failed to escape.

His body was found following a painstaking search more than two months later, although his remains were so badly damaged he could not be identified until 16 weeks later on 15 November.

One man, Richard Simnett, suffered a number of serious injuries after he helped his partner and two sons, aged five and four, out of a window.

Prosecutor Michael Jones said Harris had “carried out a clearly deliberate and obviously dangerous act.”

“It was likely to result in serious injury or death and that is indeed is what occurred,” he said.

Shortly after the fire, Harris was found by a policeman slumped in the street with his T-shirt over his head and was described as "heavily intoxicated" before he walked home.

Harris was later identified using CCTV and was arrested on suspicion of arson, denying to police ever entering the hotel, before saying he had been threatened by an unknown man to set the hotel on fire or else his family would be harmed.

On Monday, Harris pleaded guilty to manslaughter, arson, and inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent on the day his trial was due to begin.

He was originally charged with the murder of Mr Tunaitis but his guilty plea to the alternative charge of manslaughter was accepted by prosecutors.

Judge Paul Thomas adjourned the hearing until Wednesday.