Two brothers and their sister have been arrested in connection with the murder of two men found dead at a flat.
Their mother - who died in mysterious circumstances last month - was the partner of one of the victims.
It is understood the suspects are Kenny Howson, 25, Lee Howson, 18, and Krystal Howson, 23, who were all arrested in Burnley, Lancashire, on Wednesday morning. A 30-year-old man from the town was also detained on suspicion of murder, police said.
The bodies of James Atkinson and Neil Gilmore were discovered when police were called to Mr Gilmore's ground-floor flat in Waddington Avenue on Tuesday afternoon.
The mother of the three siblings, Pam Brown, lived with Mr Atkinson in nearby Brunshaw Avenue before her death on September 7. They are children from a previous marriage.
A separate investigation is under way into the death of 43-year-old Mrs Brown. An inquest into her death was opened and adjourned last month as histology and toxicology tests were ordered.
She died in Blackburn Royal Hospital just three days after the death of her father, Trevor Brown, 68, a lecturer at Burnley College, who had been ill for some time.
Mr Atkinson had moved in with his friend, Mr Gilmore, following an arson attack at his home last month - less than a fortnight after the death of Mrs Brown.
One of the possible murder motives that detectives were probing was that the killings were a revenge attack.
A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said: "Early this morning, officers arrested three men and one woman on suspicion of murder. They will be interviewed at Burnley police station throughout the day. The people arrested on suspicion of murder are an 18-year-old man from Burnley, a 25-year-old man from Burnley, a 30-year-old man from Burnley and 23-year-old woman from Burnley."
Two brothers and their sister have been arrested in connection with the murder of two men found dead at a flat.
Their mother - who died in mysterious circumstances last month - was the partner of one of the victims.
It is understood the suspects are Kenny Howson, 25, Lee Howson, 18, and Krystal Howson, 23, who were all arrested in Burnley, Lancashire, on Wednesday morning. A 30-year-old man from the town was also detained on suspicion of murder, police said.
The bodies of James Atkinson and Neil Gilmore were discovered when police were called to Mr Gilmore's ground-floor flat in Waddington Avenue on Tuesday afternoon.
The mother of the three siblings, Pam Brown, lived with Mr Atkinson in nearby Brunshaw Avenue before her death on September 7. They are children from a previous marriage.
A separate investigation is under way into the death of 43-year-old Mrs Brown. An inquest into her death was opened and adjourned last month as histology and toxicology tests were ordered.
She died in Blackburn Royal Hospital just three days after the death of her father, Trevor Brown, 68, a lecturer at Burnley College, who had been ill for some time.
Mr Atkinson had moved in with his friend, Mr Gilmore, following an arson attack at his home last month - less than a fortnight after the death of Mrs Brown.
One of the possible murder motives that detectives were probing was that the killings were a revenge attack.
A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said: "Early this morning, officers arrested three men and one woman on suspicion of murder. They will be interviewed at Burnley police station throughout the day. The people arrested on suspicion of murder are an 18-year-old man from Burnley, a 25-year-old man from Burnley, a 30-year-old man from Burnley and 23-year-old woman from Burnley."
Liam Fox has launched a blistering attack on the "ghastly" legacy left by Labour's stewardship of the Armed Forces, accusing them of being the most "short sighted, self serving, incompetent, useless, and ineffective" Government in history.
The Defence Secretary has accused ministers of behaving "like out-of-control online shoppers who kept ordering more and more without once considering how they might pay for them when the goods arrived".
He said Labour's economic policies were a "national security liability", leaving ministers with £38 billion of unfunded liabilities relating to commitments which Labour signed up to over the next decade.
Dr Fox has also reaffirmed the Government's commitment to replacing Trident, telling activists at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham: "We will maintain Britain's nuclear deterrent and will go ahead with the Trident replacement programme."
He was speaking days ahead of the completion of negotiations with the Treasury over cuts of 10%-20% demanded by Chancellor George Osborne.
Asked by an activist to give reassurance that the Government would "put defence first" he suggested that some capabilities "orientated towards the Cold War" could be "divested" but stressed: "I have been asked to produce a programme which is adaptive, which will maintain capability across land, sea and air to be able to deal with whatever the future may bring...it will be a few more weeks until we finish the (Strategic Defence and Security) review and then we will set out the best possible and most strategically coherent shape of our Armed Forces that we can do, given the economic train wreck that we inherited from the Labour Party."
He also told activists that the Government would replace 125 Service Families Accommodation Units at Bulford in Wiltshire with 260 new units at a cost of £47m.
Dr Fox has been sounding a bullish note in recent days, describing Mr Cameron as his "greatest ally" in his battle with the Treasury, and it is thought that the settlement expected early next week will fix the MoD's sacrifices at around 10% - the lower end of the Chancellor's scale.
However, he told activists that this saving comes on top of £38 billion of unfunded liabilities relating to commitments which Labour signed up to over the coming 10 years.
The Strategic Defence and Security Review expected two days ahead of Mr Osborne's October 20 spending review will spell out how these savings can be achieved, with all three forces expected to lose cherished programmes - and speculation that one or both of the Royal Navy's planned aircraft carriers may be ditched.
More than 1,000 people gathered to pay their respects to a young soldier killed in Afghanistan.
Trooper Andrew Howarth, 20, was the third generation of his family to serve in the Queen's Royal Lancers.
More than 700 mourners filled Wimborne Minster for the funeral, while hundreds more stood outside to listen to the service relayed on speakers.
As Trooper Howarth's coffin was driven into Wimborne, the Dorset town came to a standstill. A standard party from the Royal British Legion lined the road outside the Minster as the hearse drove past.
Mourners broke out in a spontaneous round of applause as the hearse drove past en route to the minster.
The soldier's coffin was carried into the minster by soldiers from his own regiment, while his parents John and Sarah, and elder brother Marcus, followed behind.
Trooper Howarth died alongside Sergeant Andrew Jones, of the Royal Engineers, when their Jackal armoured vehicle was hit by an insurgent bomb in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand Province on September 18.
Prime Minister David Cameron has acknowledged that the Government's programme of spending cuts will be "difficult", but promised it will deliver rewards in the shape of growth, investment, jobs and money in people's pockets.
In his first speech to a Conservative conference as Prime Minister, he accepted that people were "anxious" about the impact of cuts like the abolition of Child Benefit for higher-rate taxpayers announced this week, but insisted: "There is no other responsible way."
It was "right" that those with broader shoulders bore a larger share of the burden of reducing the deficit, and the Government would always aim to ensure measures to cut spending were "fair", he said.
Mr Cameron issued a call to Britons to "pull together" as the nation seeks to restore its economic stability, telling them: "Your country needs you."
The Conservatives' slogan "We're all in this together" was "not a cry for help, but a call to arms", he said, as he urged citizens to take part in projects to improve their communities, start up businesses and challenge waste.
He painted a vision of "a more powerful people, people that believe in themselves, a Britain that believes in itself" as he said: "Come on: let's pull together. Let's come together. Let's work together in the national interest."
Looking ahead to Chancellor George Osborne's spending review on October 20, Mr Cameron recognised that the measures he will unveil to eliminate the structural deficit within five years will be felt by voters across the country in the shape of job losses and scaled-back Government programmes.
"Reducing spending will be difficult," he said. "There are programmes that will be cut. There are jobs that will be lost. There are things Government does today that it will have to stop doing."
In his only reference to the row over child benefit that has dominated the conference in Birmingham and which forced him to make a TV apology last night, Mr Cameron said: "As we work to balance the budget, fairness includes asking those on higher incomes to shoulder more of the burden than those on lower incomes.
"I'm not saying this is going to be easy, as we've seen with child benefit this week. But it's fair that those with broader shoulders should bear a greater load."
David Cameron has pledged to "take no risks with British security" as his Government looks for ways to slash billions of pounds from the defence budget.
The Prime Minister said there would inevitably be "some big changes" a day ahead of a crucial meeting of his National Security Council which is expected to reach final agreements in some key areas.
Up to 10% savings are being sought from the Ministry of Defence and Mr Cameron told the Conservative Party conference the UK would "match our commitments with the resources we've got".
"This will mean some big changes. But I promise you this: I will take no risks with British security."
He also renewed his commitment to renewing Britain's nuclear deterrent system "based on" the Trident missile system and to withdrawing British combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2015.
Discovering the "catastrophic state" of defence spending under Labour was the biggest shock he faced after becoming Prime Minister, he told party members.
The UK would "not stay a day longer than we need to" in Afghanistan, he went on, paying tribute to those who have fought and died in the conflict.
"For those who have served, for those who bear the scars and for those who will never come home, this country has gratitude beyond words."
Five elderly care home residents who died within two weeks of each other suffered "severe neglect", an official inquiry has concluded.
The residents of Parkside House Nursing Home in Northampton died between July 22 and August 6, 2009.
A Serious Case Review into the deaths has found standards at the home had declined since previous inspections.
It said by July 2009 the home, set up for people over 65 suffering from dementia or long-standing mental illness, was unable to deal with residents with additional needs and "simply could not manage".
A serious case review was carried out by the Northamptonshire Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults Board after the deaths of the five residents, aged between 83 and 100.
Concerns were sparked after an elderly woman from the home was admitted to Northampton General Hospital on July 21 last year with severe pressure sores.
She was described as unresponsive and dehydrated and was considered by hospital staff to be consistent with "severe neglect". She died the following day.
Another resident, also found to have similar pressure sores, died on the same day at the home.
On July 24 last year, three residents were moved out of the home urgently amid fears for their health.
Work at Parkside House by health and social care staff highlighted "grave concerns about the standard of care being provided" and the rest of the residents were moved from Parkside on or just after July 31, and its registration was later cancelled.
A "dramatised documentary" based on what would happen if Prince Harry were to be taken prisoner while serving in Afghanistan has been described as "deeply distasteful".
The 90-minute film, called The Taking Of Prince Harry, features contributions from former hostages and intelligence experts.
A defence source said: "The depiction, fictional or otherwise, of a member of the Armed Forces being taken hostage and mistreated is deeply distasteful."
The programme includes scenes showing the prince, played by actor Sebastian Reid, being held behind enemy lines while negotiations are carried out to free him.
At one point he is shown having an unloaded gun pointed in his face before one of his captors pulls the trigger, and he is also made to appear in Taliban and al Qaida propaganda.
The programme, which will be broadcast on Thursday October 21 at 9pm, also includes scenes where the Prince is confronted by a British-born radical Islamist and details how the British Government's approach to hostage negotiations differs from other nations.
Harry, younger son of the Prince of Wales, served in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
His presence in the country was hush-hush because of worries he could become a Taliban target if it became widely known he had been deployed.
He spent 10 weeks working as a forward air controller until his cover was blown on the internet. Harry was flown home in February 2008 when the secret was leaked.
A Clarence House spokesman said: "We are not prepared to comment on this work of fiction. Speculating about the security of Prince Harry, both as a serving member of the Armed Forces and a senior member of the Royal Family, is unhelpful." He said Harry had been told about the programme and added: "His reaction is private."
Foreign Secretary William Hague has condemned the "shameful" rocket attack on a convoy carrying the deputy British ambassador to Yemen.
Fionna Gibb escaped unhurt from the blast in the capital Sana'a, which injured one of her colleagues.
It is the second time in six months that British officials have been targeted in the country.
Tim Torlot, the then British ambassador to Yemen, was unharmed when a suicide bomber wearing a school uniform detonated an explosives belt in April.
In a separate incident today, a British man was injured and a Frenchman killed when a gunman opened fire at an oil company on the outskirts of Sana'a.
The Foreign Office said Mr Hague had received assurances from the Yemeni Government that a "vigorous investigation" would be carried out into the attack on the embassy vehicle.
Mr Hague said: "This shameful attack on British diplomats will only redouble Britain's determination to work with the government of Yemen to help address the challenges that country faces."
The armoured vehicle was in a convoy on its way to the embassy when militants opened fire, apparently using a rocket-propelled grenade.
Sources confirmed that Ms Gibb, deputy head of UK mission to Yemen, was in the car at the time but escaped unhurt.
Witnesses said two people were seen running away after the blast, leaving behind a bag containing parts of a weapon launcher.
The Government's cap on immigration threatens the UK's position as a centre of scientific excellence, eight Nobel prize-winning academics have warned.
The researchers, including the two Russians migrants who won the prize for physics on Tuesday, said that the best talent would be potentially barred from the UK by new restrictions to visa applications.
In a letter to The Times, they warned that the Coalition's plans to curtail the number of migrants coming to Britain from outside the European Union "would damage our ability to recruit the brightest young talent as well as distinguished scientists into our universities and industries".
The laureates said ministers should make changes to the cap in order to recognise the need to recruit leading lights in science and industry. Such changes have already been made for sport.
In the letter, the academics wrote: "The Government has seen fit to introduce an exception to the rules for Premier League footballers. It is a sad reflection of our priorities as a nation if we cannot afford the same recognition for elite scientists and engineers."
The cap of 24,100 work visas for non-EU citizens, introduced in June, was a plank of the Conservative election manifesto.
It will be replaced by permanent measures next April but Business Secretary Vince Cable has already said it could do "huge damage" to business and science, and he was backed by the CBI, the Royal Society and university vice-chancellors.
The letter is signed by eight of the 11 living British or British-based scientists to win a science Nobel since 1996. They include Professor Andre Geim and Professor Konstantin Novoselov, from the University of Manchester, who invented graphene, the world's thinnest material which is 200 times stronger than steel.
The scientists were awarded the Nobel prize for physics on Tuesday for their invention which is expected to revolutionise the production of everything from touch sensitive screens to aircraft and satellites.
The other signatories are Sir Paul Nurse, Sir Tim Hunt, Sir Martin Evans, Sir Harry Kroto, Sir John Walker and Sir John Sulston.
A Cabinet minister has been criticised for saying the Government's new family cap on benefits reflected the need for long-term claimants to "take responsibility" for the number of children they have.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the "state shouldn't support" large families who receive more in benefits than the average family earns.
Labour MP Kate Green, a former head of the Child Poverty Action Group, has said that children should not be made to suffer because of changes in their parents' circumstances.
This week Chancellor George Osborne unveiled proposals for a maximum limit on the amount of benefits one family can claim.
He did not put a figure on the new welfare cap but said that - with the exception of the disabled - no family will receive more in benefits than the average family receives from going out to work.
Speaking on BBC2's Newsnight, Mr Hunt denied that the new limit was a "penalty" on large families.
"The number of children that you have is a choice and what we're saying is that if people are living on benefits, then they make choices but they also have to have responsibility for those choices," he said. "It's not going to be the role of the state to finance those choices."
He added: "You can have children but if you are going to ask for support that is more than the average wage that people earn, then we're saying no, the state shouldn't support that.
"That's not fair on working people who have to pay the taxes to pay those benefits."
Mr Hunt also insisted that the Government was right to withdraw child benefit from families where one parent is a higher-rate taxpayer.
Bank of England policymakers will come under mounting pressure to deliver more economy-boosting support when they decide on interest rates today.
Calls are growing for the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to launch another phase of quantitative easing (QE) amid fears over the recovery once spending cuts kick in.
The nine-strong MPC is widely expected to resist pleas this month until a clearer picture emerges on the economy, but the Bank's decision will be in the spotlight after Japan this week cut its interest rates to virtually zero and pumped more cash into the economy.
America is also being closely watched as hopes grow it too will take action to help the world's biggest economy.
Support for more QE is increasing within the MPC itself, with a recent speech by rate-setter Adam Posen making it clear he feels now is the time to pump more money into the economy.
He warned over a potential Japan-style "lost decade" of stagnant growth if further moves are not made.
His comments followed a clear signal in the minutes of September's rates meeting that so-called QE2 was likely over the coming months.
But the Bank is also battling against stubbornly high inflation, which remained at 3.1% in August - well above the Bank's 2% target.
Economists believe a three-way split will emerge this week, with Mr Posen opting for more QE and Andrew Sentance voting once more for a quarter point rise in rates to calm inflation.
The majority of the MPC are not expected to back any change yet and experts predict a hold decision once again, with rates kept at 0.5% and QE at £200 billion.
David Cameron is to meet senior ministers and officials in a fresh attempt to agree where the spending axe will fall on Britain's beleaguered armed forces.
The Prime Minister will chair a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) in Downing Street to consider the strategic defence and security review (SDSR) amid continuing tensions between the Treasury and the Ministry of Defence.
Following a meeting last week officials were sent away to do more work, with the MoD under pressure to come up with major cuts to a defence budget which is already heavily underspent.
It later emerged that Defence Secretary Liam Fox wrote to Mr Cameron complaining that the SDSR process was becoming "less and less defensible" and warning of the "grave consequences" of imposing "draconian" cuts on the military.
The Prime Minister subsequently declared his commitment to maintaining strong armed forces insisting that Dr Fox's fears were "unfounded".
In his speech on Wednesday to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, he again declared that he would take "no risks with British security", while acknowledging that the forces faced "big changes".
Nevertheless key issues still have to be resolved in what is proving to be the most difficult element of the Government's overall comprehensive spending review to be announced on October 20.
One major decision is whether to press ahead with the Royal Navy's programme to build two new aircraft carriers at a cost of more than £5 billion. There is speculation that one boat could be axed - although that could cost more than £1 billion in cancellation fees - or built and then put on "extended readiness" - effectively mothballed - drastically reducing the running costs.
The NSC will also have to decided to go ahead with the planned full complement 138 of American-built Joint Strike Fighters which will equip the carriers, with reports suggesting that the order could be halved, saving around £7 billion.
It is already clear that the RAF looks set to lose significant numbers of its fast jet fighters - increasing seen as a relic of the Cold War era. In contrast, the Army - which remains heavily committed to operations in Afghanistan - appears to have won its battle to stave off significant cuts to troop numbers.
The UK housing market has suffered a major jolt as figures from Halifax revealed prices slumped 3.6% in September - the biggest monthly drop since figures were first compiled in 1983.
The group said an increase in the number of properties on the market, combined with a drop in demand fuelled by uncertainty over the economy, forced prices down.
Martin Ellis, housing economist with Halifax, said it is too early to conclude that September's fall represents the beginning of a sustained period of declining house prices.
He added: "Looking at quarterly figures - a better measure of the underlying trend - house prices in the third quarter of 2010 were 0.9% lower than in the second quarter of 2010.
"This rate of decline is significantly slower than the quarterly changes of between minus 5% and minus 6% that were seen in the second half of 2008."
Halifax said that house prices still remain higher than a year ago - with prices in September up 2.6% on last year.
But Mr Ellis added that prospects for the housing market are uncertain.
He said: "Earnings growth is expected to be very modest over the next year, tax rises are on the way and more people are putting their homes on the market. These will all be constraints on the market, dampening house prices."
The Government appears to be on a collision course with the unions after a report was published calling for an end to final salary pension schemes for public sector workers.
Former Labour Cabinet minister Lord Hutton said long-term structural reform was needed to public sector pensions, including an end to the current final salary schemes.
He called for a new model of pensions to be introduced that shared the risk more fairly between the Government and workers.
But he ruled out replacing final salary pensions with individual funded defined contribution ones - under which the employee bears all the risk - as has happened in much of the private sector.
Lord Hutton said he would consider a range of alternatives in his final report, including a career average scheme, under which pensions are based on a worker's average pay during their career, rather than their salary immediately before they retire.
Other options include hybrid schemes, which share the risk, and collective or notional defined contribution pensions.
He added that if the Government wanted to make short-term savings, it should raise pension contribution rates for workers.
But he stressed that it should protect the low-paid from the increases and not hike rates for the armed forces at this time.
Lord Hutton was commissioned to carry out the review by Chancellor George Osborne, who warned that the "unsustainable" rise in the annual bill for public sector schemes must be tackled.
Lord Hutton said he did not want to see "good, decent people" facing poverty in retirement, but he stressed that the problem could not be "buried" any longer because of the problems being stored up.
Labour's new frontbench team will be disclosed today as the winners of the shadow cabinet election are announced.
Some 49 MPs will discover at 9pm whether they have been successful in gaining one of 19 places in Ed Miliband's top team.
Labour's new leader faces a difficult job in deciding who is suited to each portfolio. The MPs will be in their new positions by Monday, when Parliament returns after the conference season.
The departure of some of Labour's biggest beasts, including Lord Mandelson, Alistair Darling, Jack Straw and Bob Ainsworth, has left opportunities for fresh faces on the front bench, but household names such as Alan Johnson and defeated leadership contenders Ed Balls and Andy Burnham put themselves forward.
Former foreign secretary David Miliband ruled himself out of frontline politics after he lost the contest to his brother.
Under Labour rules, its MPs vote to decide who should be in the shadow cabinet when the party is in opposition. A minimum quota of six women was imposed as part of efforts to promote equality.
Yvette Cooper is tipped for a big role in the shadow cabinet and both she and her husband Ed Balls appear to have proved their worth for the key job of shadow chancellor. Former ministers Caroline Flint and sisters Angela and Maria Eagle are among the women nominated - while left-winger Diane Abbott is a wild-card entrant after her leadership bid.
The party's deputy leader Harriet Harman has automatically gained a place in the top team and Rosie Winterton is the only MP standing in a separate ballot for chief whip.
Close allies of Ed Miliband are expected to be the biggest winners in the process, with his leadership campaign manager and former transport minister Sadiq Khan expected to receive a bigger role.
Unlike the Conservatives, Labour have historically elected their shadow cabinets while in opposition. Last month MPs rejected proposals to allow the leader to choose his top team, as in government, but they did agree to limit elections to every two years; before Labour came to power in 1997, elections were held annually.
The Commonwealth Games is facing a new crisis after reports that up to 15 swimmers on the England and Australian teams have a stomach virus - potentially caused by the quality of water at the aquatics centre in New Delhi.
England's swimming team doctor said that about 20 per cent of the swimmers - about eight to 10 competitors - are ill with a stomach virus, while Australia confirmed that at least six swimmers were sick, including Andrew Lauterstein, who was a late withdrawal from the 50-metre butterfly on Wednesday.
English swimmers, including Fran Halsall and Rebecca Adlington, are among those who have been struggling with the virus, according to reports.
Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell told a news conference that officials will investigate the matter urgently and conduct tests on both the main pool and the warm-up pool at the Dr SP Makherjee Aquatic Complex.
Fennell was asked if the swimming competition might be cancelled or moved if tests showed the pools were unsafe.
"I would not like to speculate about this immediately," Fennell said. "If there is something unsafe, you cannot swim in that water. It is a matter we have to deal with a great deal of urgency."
Australian swimming team spokesman Lachlan Searle said "about a half-dozen" swimmers had been affected by stomach problems. He said Lauterstein could not take part in training and that Hayden Stoeckel, who won a silver medal in the men's 50-metre backstroke was not well.
Commonwealth Games England released a statement on the stomach bugs affecting the English athletes.
It read: "As of today there are 541 England team members in the Village. Over the past 28 days 8% of our team have had some kind of mild stomach conditions.
"These levels are lower than we expected coming into this environment."
A Cabinet minister has hit out at claims by the Police Federation that looming spending cuts to the service would represent a "Christmas for criminals".
Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander said the Federation - which represents rank-and-file officers in England and Wales - was being "irresponsible" when it did not even know yet how deep the cuts would be.
The Federation warned last month that forces would be "devastated", losing up to 40,000 policing jobs, if they were required to find cuts in the order of 25%.
In an interview with ITV1's Tonight programme - to be screened tonight - Mr Alexander, a Liberal Democrat, strongly criticised their intervention.
"Senior people in the police service should know better than to make irresponsible statements like that on the basis of information that hasn't been settled yet, in terms of how much money they are going to get," he said.
"I think people in general should take with a very big pinch of salt, statements made by lobby groups who are trying to protect their budgets in advance of the spending review."
It is not the first time that ministers in the coalition Government have clashed with the police over the cuts, due to be announced in the comprehensive spending review on October 20.
In July Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude accused senior officers of "shroud-waving" after Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism chief, Assistant Commissioner John Yates, warned that cuts to the counter-terrorism budget could endanger the public.
:: Tonight: The Cuts Are Coming is on ITV1 at 7.30pm.
A viewer who harassed BBC newsreader Fiona Bruce by sending flowers and cards signed "your kingfisher and loving husband" was ordered to be detained in hospital under mental health legislation.
Australian-born Peter Oakey, 51, of Brentwood, Essex, sent more than 20 cards to the BBC, referring to the 46-year-old television presenter as "my beautiful firebird" and writing "I love you Fiona", a judge at Basildon Crown Court was told during a hearing on September 29.
Prosecutors said Oakey, who admits breaching a restraining order imposed in December 2008, had a history of "conduct of a similar nature" dating back to 2002.
He had previously appeared in court after writing "offensive" messages to a number of shops - including Boots and Sainsbury's - a church, a hospital and a doctor's surgery, Judge John Lodge was told.
Bruce gave a statement saying Oakey's behaviour left her upset, disturbed and distressed.
Psychiatrists concluded that Oakey was mentally ill and suffering from "persistent delusional disorder".
Oakey had "delusions of passion" and believed that Bruce loved him and he loved her.
Judge Lodge said he was satisfied that Oakey was suffering from a mental disorder and satisfied that the "nature and degree" of the illness made compulsory hospital treatment appropriate.
One in six pupils are falling behind in English or maths by the time they leave primary school, official figures showed.
Tens of thousands of children are not making the expected progress in the key subjects between the ages of seven and 11, according to statistics published by the Department of Education.
Fewer boys are making the expected progress in English than girls, and this gap has widened since last year.
The findings show that around 61,500 youngsters (16%) did not progress by two levels in English, while around 66,000 (17%) did not make this progress in maths.
The proportion making the expected progress in each subject has risen marginally compared to last year, the figures show.
This year, 84% made the expected progress in English, compared to 82% in 2009, and in maths this figure was 83%, compared to 81% last year.
The progress of 384,416 pupils was assessed for English and 388,574 for maths. These numbers are lower than in previous years due to a boycott of national curriculum (SATS) tests by two teaching unions. The results of SATS tests are used to establish a child's level at the end of primary school.
The statistics show more boys are falling behind than girls in English, but are just outperforming them in maths.
Nearly one in five boys (18%), did not make two levels of progress in English, compared to one in seven (14%) of girls - a gap of 4%. In 2009, there was a 3% gap.
In maths, 17% of boys, and 18% of girls failed to make the expected progress, a 1% gap, compared to 2% last year.
