Paul Meehan, neighbour of murdered Tia Sharp, accused of wasting police time No suggestion 40-year-old knew anything about the killing The bus driver told the court that although he now accepts it could not have been Tia, he believed his statements to police were true at the time. Meehan said he did not initially tell police about the potentially vital sighting when first asked on August 4, the morning after she had been reported missing, because he had just woken up. But he claims he did pass the information to an unidentified officer the following day. 'I was tired and I wasn't fully awake when the door knocked on Saturday afternoon', he said. 'I had just woken up, but I'm sure I said it to one of the officers.' Meehan said his memory of seeing the girl leaving his neighbour's house returned 'at the end of Saturday into Sunday'. He told DC Gavin Seeley about the sighting just before midnight on Sunday, when he was at the house Hazell shared with Mrs Bicknell. 'Are you really telling us the truth?', asked prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward. You were aware the granddaughter from next door was missing, you knew police were making enquiries, and you have seen her. You had woken up, came to your senses, found out it was all really true, and you kept that information to yourself for the best part of a day? But Meehan reasserted that he had already mentioned it to another officer, and did not think he needed to repeat it to DC Seeley. 'As far as I was concerned, I had mentioned it to an officer prior', he said. 'I can't be responsible for how they deal with it.' Frequently flustered under cross-examination, Meehan repeatedly told the court: 'At the time I made my statement to DC Seeley, I believed it to be true.' But Ms Ledward told him: 'You told what you thought would be a white life, something you believed was true, but something you hadn't seen at all. You did that to draw attention to yourself, to draw attention to yourself as the last person to see Tia. But Meehan responded: 'I came forward doing something I thought would be the right thing.' Asked if he still remembered seeing a girl leave the house that day, he told the court: 'I still have a recollection of someone - knowing it is not Tia - but I recollect someone walking up the path. 'My recollection is still clear in my mind, even if it can't be true.' Meehan has one previous conviction, on April 17, 1998, for theft at Swansea Crown Court, for which he was given 80 hours community service and ordered to pay £470 compensation. Expert witnesses will now be called to give evidence on Meehan's state of mind when he spoke to police. Meehan may be suffering from a false memory that makes him believe he did actually see Tia that day, an expert psychologist told the court. Dr Ian Anderson told magistrates that Meehan may have a 'confabulated memory', a common problem which causes the sufferer to believe something that is not true. 'It is entirely possible in this case', he said. 'What we have heard today was the way Mr Meehan's memory changed over time. 'His early memory wasn't entirely sure, but then he became more sure as he keeps telling it.' He suggested there was an absence of personality defects or a motive to life, this was the most likely explanation of Meehan's claims. It is one of the possibilities, although I believe in considering all the possibilities I can think of, it seems to me a likely possibility. Dr Anderson said Meehan showed no signs of being a compulsive liar. And he suggested there was no sign that Meehan was hoping to enhance his importance by claiming to have seen Tia. Dr Anderson added that Meehan appeared confused at times during his evidence, but this may have been a side effect of the anti-depressant medication he is taking.