Blast murderer 'betrayed' victim

Roddy Hine had given support to Mark Goldstraw

The family of a man who died with three children in an inferno at a house said he was "betrayed" by the convicted killer he had befriended.

Roddy Hine had taken Mark Goldstraw, 31, "under his wing" and kept in touch with him when he was in prison for a manslaughter in 2001.

But Goldstraw, who was released in 2004, repaid his friendship by setting fire to the house while Mr Hine and the youngsters were inside.

The 44-year-old victim's sister, Bethan Lawton, thought Mr Hine got to know Goldstraw through his love of motorbikes - a passion that was prominent at his funeral, when dozens of bikers rode at the front of a cortege.

[Rod] would do his utmost to go out of his way and help people Bethan Lawton, Roddy Hine's sister

"Rod had supported him so much and helped him through his difficult time. Obviously doing this to Rod is just unbelievable," she said.

"[Rod] would do his utmost to go out of his way and help people, including Mark Goldstraw."

The tragedy at Cheddleton, Staffordshire, in March was described as "every parent's nightmare" at the children's funerals.

Their mother, Amanda Carter, 35, was working a night shift at the time that seven-year-old Marcus and his sisters Patricia, 10, and Samantha, 16, died.

Mr Hine's sister and brothers say they cannot understand his death

Relatives have described Samantha as an outgoing teenager who liked socialising and had started working in a shop. They also talked of Patricia's love of music and Marcus being a football fan.

Mr Hine was Ms Carter's partner and was not the father of her three children.

But they were described as a "close, loving family" with Marcus sharing Mr Hine's fascination with motorbikes.

The blaze ripped through the roof of the three-storey home on Hillside Road, leaving a scene that was described as one of the most challenging ever encountered by Staffordshire Police - stabilising the building and protecting evidence.

'A terrible ordeal'

Mr Hine's brother, Robert, worked with him for 26 years and watched the tragedy unfolding, after being called to the scene by a neighbour.

He said: "I wasn't sure what was happening and if Roddy was still inside.

"I was shaking terribly and decided to ring my sister [but] I physically couldn't dial the number on the phone.

Robert Hine said he watched helplessly as the house burned

"It was the middle of the night, I couldn't speak properly and she thought I was some sort of hoax caller.

"Some friends came to console me - it was a terrible ordeal."

He said he did not want his mother and father to hear the news on the radio.

"That was one of the most difficult [things] I had to do to tell mum and dad that their son had been burnt to death."

Mr Hine's other brother Richard spoke of Goldstraw's early release just three years after being convicted of manslaughter.

Goldstraw, of Compton House, Leek, had battered his former lover Deborah Wheatley to death with a mallet.

"Basically [Goldstraw] fooled the system," said Richard Hine.

"He has served a short sentence for the first crime and has put up some sort of front when he was let out first time to say he was safe."

Robert Hine added: "We can't understand why Mark Goldstraw should do this to Roddy and the children.

"There's no appropriate punishment - life is not enough. He's taken four lives and he should never be let out at all."