Osbaston House demolition 'wipes away' Foster family memories

The demolition of the house where failed Shropshire businessman Christopher Foster murdered his wife Jill and daughter Kirstie before killing himself has 'wiped away' the last memories of the family, his brother said today.

And Andrew Foster renewed his plea for whoever ends up owning the land to allow him to build a memorial on the site for his 15-year-old niece Kirstie.

There is now nothing left of the luxury mansion near Oswestry which was set alight by Christopher Foster after the murders.

Andrew said: "We as a family accept the demolition had to be done because the house was in ruins but it is still a very distressing time for us.

"The remains of the house were the last memory I had of it and Christopher and his family and now they are gone."

Those memories have been wiped away at a stroke and it is a difficult thing to accept.

"Some of Kirstie's remains are buried in a wooded area at the site and we strongly feel they should not be touched by any future development and that an area should be set aside for a memorial.

"That wooded area was her favourite place and she would ride through it on her horse. It has very fond memories for us as a family."

Andrew said the family had been told to contact the developer or whoever buys the land to ask for permission for the memorial.

He said: "I think that is going to be difficult because the whole thing is so sensitive but we think it is only right we can remember Kirstie. I would ask whoever owns it in the future to please leave the wooded area alone. We would also ask to speak to them about putting a memorial up for Kirstie."

The 15-year-old and her mother were murdered by Christopher Foster in August 2008. He then shot the family's pets before setting alight to Osbaston House and died in the blaze.

Receivers GVA Grimley have already stressed to demolition contractors that the area of the wood where Kirstie is buried was not to be disturbed.

Andrew said: "We are still in contact with the receivers and hopefully we can get the memorial eventually."