Foster's mother braves service

The elderly mother of Shropshire family killer Chris Foster bravely followed his coffin hours after she had buried her beloved granddaughter and daughter-in-law, both murdered by him.

See also: Foster family funerals held

See also: Foster mansion tragedy

Enid Foster, 78, from Church Stretton, joined her six other family members to lead the mourners at her 50-year-old son's funeral service near Oswestry yesterday afternoon.

It came just over three hours after Mrs Foster had walked behind the coffins of Jill Foster and 15-year-old Kirstie down the same path at St John's Church in Maesbrook yesterday morning.

Foster's brother, Andrew, also attended both funerals but the family of Jill, including her brother Roger Doley and sister Anne Giddings, led the mourners at the earlier service.

The families had waited nearly four months for the two services yesterday which saw Jill and Kirstie buried together, while their killer was buried in a nearby plot.

The joint funeral of mother and daughter saw about 100 people pack into the village church with a further 50 mourners forced to listen outside.

But all of the mourners who turned out to pay their last respects to Foster - who shot his family before turning their luxury home of Osbaston House into a blazing inferno and killing himself - fitted into the church.

Speaking before his brother's funeral, Andrew Foster said: "We will never come to terms with what has happened and will never understand why Chris took Jill's and Kirstie's lives away from them."