Mother tells of blast that killed future husband

A mother whose partner and three children were killed when their house exploded has told how she accepted his offer of marriage days before the tragedy.

Amanda Carter, who was working a night shift at a local residential care home when the blast occurred last Thursday in Cheddleton, a Staffordshire commuter town, said Roderick Hines had proposed to her the previous week.

The couple had planned a romantic break this week to coincide with her 36th birthday and a summer trip to EuroDisney with the children she now mourns: Samantha, 16, Patricia, 10, and seven-year-old Marcus.

"I have been absolutely ripped apart," Mrs Carter said. "I have nothing left. My family has been taken away from me, my house and all the memories are going to be demolished."

Mark Goldstraw, 31, of, Leek, appeared in court on Tuesday charged with the murders of the four victims of the house explosion.