The lost years

That year also witnessed the marriage of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster and Argentina's controversial victory in the World Cup.

But in Knutsford, most of the talk was about the murder of lonely pools collector Harold Cheetham and the shy, quiet man who had gone to prison, still protesting his innocence.

Geoffrey Foster, who had a low IQ, had confessed to strangling 74-year-old Harold at his home in Southfields, but later retracted his statement.

Nearly 16 years on the Fosters' former neighbours in Shaw Drive rarely talk about the murder any more.

"It feels like it was so long ago because so much has happened in my life since then," said their former next-door neighbour. "Fifteen years is a big chunk of anyone's life but I can't begin to imagine how long it feels like for Geoffrey."

But another neighbour in Shaw Drive said it did not seem 'two minutes' since the well-known Foster family were walking past his front window on their way into town.

"I used to see them just about every day," he said. "But it all stopped so suddenly when Geoffrey was arrested.

"I can't believe he's been in prison for 15 years. Time just passes us by so quickly, but I doubt Geoffrey would agree."

Over the past 15 years since he began his life sentence, Knutsford has witnessed many changes.

Among them are new offices in Tatton Street, new homes in Brook Street and Goughs Lane and a new library in Toft Road.

All will he know of Martin Bell's famous battle with the Hamiltons on Knutsford Heath and the town's unveiling of the Millennium Tapestry will be what he has read in newspapers.

A Southfields resident, who never knew the Fosters, believes that Foster probably would not recognise Knutsford now.

"I've only lived here for five years and there have been lots of changes," he said. "New flats and houses have gone up all over the place.

"After more than 15 years Foster would probably think he was in a different town altogether."

But Margaret Timpson, who lived behind the Fosters' home at the time of Geoffrey Foster's arrest, doubted he would ever return to Knutsford.

"I wouldn't blame him. I wouldn't come back if it was me," she said.

Foster was unemployed and living with his mother Sylvia and four brothers when he was arrested shortly after the Valentine's Day murder in 1985.

Within days of Mr Cheetham's body being found by neighbour George Ward, local residents were pinning the blame on the Fosters. Within weeks Geoffrey was in custody on a murder charge.

Despite initial rumours around town that police had got the right man, Foster's conviction at Chester Crown Court came as a shock to many residents on the Shaw Heath estate.

Those who knew his family looked upon Geoffrey - the third of 10 children - as the 'normal' one in the family.

"He was a nice young lad who always said hello," said one woman who lived next door to him for four years. "He kept himself to himself though and didn't like to give too much away, probably because they were a private family.

Influenced

"He seemed like the very quiet and shy type, where as some of his brothers were quite loud and arrogant."

But the elderly Shaw Drive resident fears prison life will have changed Foster from a timid 20-something into a bitter 40-year-old.

"I don't think he went in a criminal but he might come out one," she said. "I think he was easily influenced by the rest of his family so being around evil people for 15 years is bound to have an effect on him.

"It must be hell for him because I'm convinced he is innocent."

In November 1994, just eight years into his life sentence, Foster was already clearly frustrated being locked behind bars.

"It's doing my head in because I am in prison because I didn't do the crime," he told the Knutsford Guardian from his cell at Garth Prison in Lancashire, where he had a TV, radio and jobs to keep him busy. "It's in my mind all the time because I know nothing is going to get done and I have to sit in my cell all the time."

More than seven years on Foster has been moved from one prison to another but is still awaiting action over something that, to him, is a straightforward case of injustice.

But Mrs Timpson, who now lives in Southfields, said he might be better off in an institution where he can be looked after.

"I don't think he should be in prison and it wouldn't be a shock to many round here if he was released," she said.

"But the family were all a bit slow and I think he would be safer living in a place where people can keep an eye on him instead of letting him wander the streets.

"But I can't say how he would cope with freedom. I guess it would be a big shock to the system."

Only his mother, who now lives in a two-bedroomed flat in Macclesfield with his brother Derek, visits him.

His father and one of his younger brothers have died and another three siblings died in infancy in the 1970s.

But their former next-door neighbour is in no doubt that, if he is released, Foster will go straight back to his family.

"They were always so close and the mum was always looking out for her children," she said. "But her children were bullied by others on the estate and she was just sticking up for them. I think Geoffrey would go back and live with her if he gets out. They could be a family again." But a resident of Hayfields believes prison may have been Geoffrey's only escape from his 'very strange' family. "Geoffrey seemed the most normal," said the elderly woman. "Maybe he wanted to get away from them. But if he gets out I think it will take a long time for him to get used to real life."

In 1987 Foster's appeal was turned down and in 1993 the Home Office refused to send his case back to the Court of Appeal.

But in November 2000 the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent body responsible for reviewing miscarriages of justice, referred the conviction to the appeal court in London.

Last week Stephen Downing, who spent 27 years in jail for bludgeoning Bakewell typist Wendy Sewell to death in the cemetery where he worked in 1973, had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Three judges at the Court of Appeal said the conviction was unsafe after accepting that police investigating the case had broken rules.

Downing, who was 17 when he was arrested, had been interrogated for seven hours without being allowed to see either his father or a solicitor.

He later confessed to the murder.

It is believed that Foster's lawyers claim to have new evidence about the way he was interviewed during the investigation, which will be used at his appeal.

On Thursday the Hayfields resident, who has always believed he is innocent, said the Downing case offered Foster a ray of hope.

"If Downing could get out after 27 years and find a job then it should give some hope to Geoffrey," she said. "I'm sure he knows about the case and will be hoping his appeal goes the same way."

Lawyers have predicted that Downing, who had a mental age of 11 at the time of the murder, could receive a record £2million payout for wrongful imprisonment and the trauma of years behind bars.

Foster's next-door neighbour hopes he will get similar compensation if he is released.

"I think they should let him out and give him a nice amount so he can set up a lovely home somewhere away from here with his family," she said. "They deserve to have bit of peace and happiness after what they've been through.

"I've always said he's innocent and I just hope the judges at his appeal can see that too."

mgillies@guardiangrp.co.uk