ONE of Britain's most prolific serial killers has failed in a bid to clear his name.

       Peter Tredget - who also goes by the name Bruce Lee - was initially convicted of 26 deaths, including that of a six-month-old baby, following arson attacks in Hull.

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       Peter Tredget has failed in his bid to overturn his convictions for a serial of fatal fires in Hull Credit: PA Pictures 2

       Peter Hastie, eight, was one of the victims Credit: Alamy

       Tredget admitted 11 counts of arson and 26 counts of manslaughter between 1973 and 1979 - making him more deadly than Peter Sutcliffe, who murdered 13 woman, and Fred West, who is responsible for at least 12 murders.

       But the killer, now 61, had launched an appeal after lawyers said they feared a "serious miscarriage of justice".

       Tredget has been in a secure mental hospital since 1981.

       In December 1983, judges at the Court of Appeal upheld most of his convictions - but quashed one count of arson and 11 of manslaughter relating to a blaze at an old people's home in 1977.

       A further five convictions - two of arson and three of manslaughter - have also now been overturned.

       REIGN OF TERROR

       However, judges concluded his remaining convictions on eight counts of arson and 12 of manslaughter are "safe".

       Tim Barnes QC, representing Tredget, had argued that when he confessed, he was "unreliable" and "no credence" should be given to his guilty pleas, the BBC reports.

       "Absent the confession, there is simply no evidence which would have led to this appellant being charged, let alone to him being convicted," he said.

       Tredget, who also went by the name Peter Dinsdale, had been on a "substantial" alcohol "bender" before his arrest.

       His first interview was conducted without a solicitor or responsible adult present.

       Mr Barnes said Tredget has "low IQ, learning difficulties [and] personality disorder".

       KILLER'S DENIAL

       He also alleged expert analysis has revealed parts of his confessions were "completely rewritten" by a senior officer.

       Tredget has denied being responsible for the fires for the past 35 years.

       He is semi-paralysed and walks with a limp - meaning the "degree of physical dexterity" to start some of the blazes "would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible", the court heard.

       No forensic evidence exists to connect Tredget to any of the blazes.

       Meanwhile, experts say it's "impossible" to rule out "accidental cause" for each, it was claimed.

       Among those to die were three brothers who suffered fatal burns on December 4 1979.

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       The Hastie family were asleep in a property in Selby Street when the blaze took hold.

       Charles, 15, Paul, 12, and Peter, eight, died after becoming trapped in the burning property.

       Following the horror, Tredget was finally arrested - and to the complete shock of cops, confessed to nine more fatal fires over the previous seven years.