THEY have lived a ten month nightmare that nothing will ever erase.

The daughter and son-in-law of Delia Hughes have told how they will never be able to forget the horrifying moment they found the 85-year-old battered and bleeding on her bedroom floor and were told she was dead.

They had gone to her home in the evening of Saturday August 18 last year, worried they couldn't reach her by phone and wanting to invite her to a family barbecue the following day.

But they could not have been prepared for the horror scene that greeted them as the great grandmother sat slumped against a wall, her head badly injured and bleeding from her wounds.

In a statement, Beryl and John Catterall said: "Whatever the sentence given, nothing could ever erase the memory of that day when we opened the patio doors to mum's bedroom and found her lying on the floor.

"At first we thought she was unconscious but when the paramedics arrived we were told it was too late, she was dead.

"This happens to other people in the news, not to us. Your heart goes out to them with what they must be going through."

They added: "We are unable to conceive what would bring a man to wish to commit such a vicious murder to a defenceless elderly lady who wouldn't harm anyone.

"We can only think he is not right in the head. To hit someone in self defence or to hit out to protect someone and to suddenly realise your mistake - we think we can understand. But to keep on hitting an unsuspecting, defenceless person is not right, not normal."

They added: "We would never be happy with the sentence this man was given. Nothing can mitigate our deep sense of loss and sorrow. You don't realise how much you miss someone until they are gone forever.

"He took mum from us all too soon, for what? A few pieces of costume jewellery which had very little value. You just can't be allowed to kill a person just so you know what it feels like to kill. That is why we have the law and why we all have to abide and respect the law."

Delia's family said they would like to thank the police for their determination to catch her killer, in particular their family liaison officer Detective Constable Phill Crossland and his colleagues for their support.