THE owner of the Argoed hotel where Cerys Yemm was brutally murdered last week has described the “life-changing” moment when she walked in on the crime.

Mandy Miles, who owns and runs the Sirhowy Arms Hotel, a B&B for the homeless, said killer Matthew Williams, 34, did not recognise her when she opened his bedroom door and found him over the body of the 22-year-old from Oakdale.

She made sure Miss Yemm was showing “no signs of life” then bravely made sure Williams could not leave his room before police arrived.

He later died in police custody after being tasered at the scene.

In her first detailed interview about the horrific crime, Mrs Miles described how at 11pm last Wednesday, the hotel's "lights out" time, things were normal.

She said: “I was messing about with Christmas presents, it was about 12.30am when my son Christian comes in [to her cottage on the site] and said ‘Mum, Matthew’s got a girl in his room’. (The site's policy forbids that.) “I said I didn’t even know Matthew was in, when people come into the hotel I get them to sign a register. If you leave you have to sign out so I know who’s in and out. I looked over the register and there was no sign of Matthew.

“I went upstairs [in the hotel] and someone said they heard a girl in there and she had been shouting for help.

“I banged Matthew’s door and said ‘Matthew, open the door, we know you’ve got a girl in there’ but we couldn’t hear anything.

“I went to the office and I got the key code, by then Christian was behind me and there were some other people in the hallway.

“I put the pin in the door and pushed the door open and there I saw Matthew. It was light because the chandelier above was shining on Matthew and this girl.

“If that girl had been alive, I couldn’t have closed the door, I would’ve had to attack Matthew with the fire extinguisher.

“The amount of blood and the stillness of her, there were no signs of life at that point. I said to Matthew ‘do you know what you’re doing to that girl?’ “He said ‘that’s no girl’.”

Mrs Miles described how Williams’ eyes were black and he was covered in blood. She said she saw broken china and that there were injuries to Miss Yemm's neck and jaw.

“I had to decide what the hell was going on and then I had residents behind me in danger,” she added.

“I rang 999 and I made damn well sure he couldn’t get out of that room. It was the fear of what he was capable of. He didn’t recognise me and he didn’t recognise what he was doing.

“I was holding onto the door knob so he couldn’t get out. I couldn’t let him flee the scene.

“I seriously had to make sure that girl was not there (still alive), or there would have been a battle. The police then came upstairs and took over.”

Mrs Miles said she had been cooperating as much as she can with police.

She said Williams had been released from prison three weeks ago and had been staying at the 15-room hotel. He had previously spent five days there in February, but was collected by probation after breaching his licence.

She added: “For the three weeks before, he had been really great. He asked for permission from stay out from the council, he asked me if I could do his washing for him. I told him that he was doing really well.

“I didn’t have any fear of Matthew. I didn’t know anything about him. The council are not told it either, it’s always ‘data protection’.

“All that happens is the phone goes and they [the council] ask, can we book a room. I go yes, what’s his name, his date of birth, any issues? That’s it.

“If there’s anything nasty, I don’t want that here. I’ve never had any hardened criminals.”

Mrs Miles added that Williams had told her he had been in prison for theft, rather than assaulting an ex-partner. “It’s worrying, it’s terrifying,” she added.

Mrs Miles has now called for more information to be shared between agencies so that she knows people’s backgrounds before she accepts them as residents.

“I need to know who is walking through my door,” she added. “Someone needs to give me a bit of a heads up and people’s backgrounds. If they’ve come from prison, I think I personally should be told what’s happened.”

Mrs Miles houses people at the hotel for an average of six weeks and works hard to “fix” the people who come in through the door.

“I tell them, ‘don’t become a victim of your circumstances, don’t be a victim of your past’,” she added.

“It’s satisfying what I do. I can’t fix them all but I have a good go and if I can I will. I love everything about what I do.”

Mrs Miles added that she had been suffering flashbacks of the incident, which she described as “life-changing”.

She added: “I can never use that room again. Not for anything. I’m going to have the door removed, it’ll be an open room. I wouldn’t expect anyone to want to be in that room.”

She is also “devastated” by the way the hotel had been portrayed as a bail hostel, rather than a B&B establishment.

She told the Argus: “What we’re doing here is really positive.”

She said she gets people from all kinds of backgrounds at the hotel, including people who have been evicted, or have had a fire at home or have been referred there by social services.

“The police are outside most of the time but that’s not because people are kicking off,” she added. “When people have had an incident, a fire or they’ve been burgled or they’ve been hit over the head, the police bring them here and then they come back to the hotel to take statements from them.

“I can’t let people drink and smoke in the hotel. It’s really quiet here, it’s nice for people to recuperate and recover after they’ve had a shock or a fire.

“Because people are homeless doesn’t mean they’re nothing. It could happen to anyone.

“I’m so sorry that people feel it’s some sort of bail hostel where we tag people. I wouldn’t do that, I run it with my kids and my grandchildren come round.

“Homelessness, it’s got a stigma. I’m devastated at what people have said. It says hotel outside, we’re not a hostel.”

Newport-born actor Michael Sheen last month filmed in the hotel with the BBC for a programme on the 175th anniversary of the Chartist march, due to air next year.

Mrs Miles said Mr Sheen had sent his regards following the incident as well as many of the crew.

Despite last week’s horror, Mrs Miles said she will continue to operate the hotel, but she will be never use the room where Miss Yemm was killed and mutilated again.

It is alleged Williams was committing an act of cannibalism, but Gwent Police are refusing to confirm or deny the allegation.

South Wales East AM William Graham yesterday reiterated his concerns surrounding the release of Williams from prison and his suspected mental health condition.

Williams’ mother Sally Ann Williams told the BBC her son "should have been in hospital".

She added that he was a regular drug taker, suffered paranoid schizophrenia and refused her request for him to see a doctor.

"He would see things that were not there, he would hear voices, say food was trying to poison him and he would hallucinate. He was aggressive to people he thought were a threat to him," she told the BBC.

"He should have been in hospital. Every time he came out of prison, we'd go through the same process. He'd be placed in a hostel somewhere with very little supervision and no psychiatric help outside."

She added the last time she saw him was the day before the attack, when he was "troubled but not desperate", and they had arranged to meet the next day.

Mr Graham AM said: “Serious questions surrounding Matthew Williams’ release from prison remain.

“Decisions relating to his mental health condition and the move to house him in this hostel require detailed explanation.

“Clarification on the provisions made to co-ordinate his treatment upon release is also required.

“It is clear that public confidence in the provision of mental health services must be restored following this horrific and tragic case.”

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has also confirmed it will be holding a serious case review will be held into the circumstances surrounding William’s release.

Islwyn Mp Chris Evans supported the MOJ’s decision.

He said: “I think it's right that the Ministry of Justice should investigate. A serious crime was committed within 30 days of release.

“Why was he unable to get a prescription for his condition? The real issue is the treatment of people with mental health issues in prison. There's very little support.

“There are now three investigations, one by Gwent Police for the murder, one by the IPCC into the death of Mr Williams and now there's an MOJ investigation.

“We need to find out what lessons can be learned and there needs to be a joined up approach.

“This has been a complete shock to anybody that has read or heard about it. My thoughts and prayers are with Cerys Yemm's family. "

Plaid Cymru MP Elfyn Llwyd, who sits on the House of Commons Justice Committee said he would ask the committee to investigate how such a "dangerous" prisoner was released without any medical supervision.

He told the BBC: "If schizophrenics take their prescribed drugs they act normally but if not they get worse and the risk increases by the day.

"We should review the sentencing procedure to include some form of monitoring, reporting once a week to a probation officer who can ascertain whether they are taking the appropriate level of drugs."