Families claim items from Shipman's jewel hoard

THE relatives of 16 patients murdered by Harold Shipman have contacted police to claim back jewellery that may have been stolen by the doctor during his killing spree.

Detectives seized a 10,000 hoard of wedding rings, necklaces and brooches from Shipman’s garage when he was arrested.

On Thursday it emerged that the 70 items of jewellery could be given to the killer’s wife, Primrose Shipman, if the families of the victims could not prove they belonged to their murdered loved ones.

The news caused outrage among victims’ relatives, who are now contacting Greater Manchester Police to claim the jewellery back.

A force spokesman said: "Since writing to the families of Dr Shipman’s victims in a final attempt to establish if anybody can positively identify any of the items in our possession, we have been contacted by the relatives of 16 of Dr Shipman’s victims."

Shipman, Britain’s biggest serial killer, is estimated to have murdered at least 250 patients in a two-decade killing spree while working as a doctor in Hyde, Greater Manchester, and Pontefract and Todmorden, West Yorkshire.

He was found hanged in Wakefield Prison in January last year after being given 15 life sentences in January 2000.