THE murders committed by 'Dr Death' Harold Shipman shocked the nation, but no more so than in Todmorden where the GP started his killing spree in the mid 1970s.

Reporter NICK EVANS visited a town grappling with the news that the 57-year-old doctor had been found hanging in his prison cell.

STEVEN Hurst and his wife Marian both knew Harold Shipman well.

The couple, who run the Post Office in Cornholme, remember him as a model family doctor -- a GP with a caring smile.

But like millions of others they were horrified to discover the true nature of a seemingly caring man who had treated their ailments 30 years ago.

The news yesterday that Shipman took his own life only served to rekindle their chilling memories of him.

Steven, 53, who was shopping in Todmorden market when he heard the news of the serial killer's death, said: "I can't imagine there will be many tears shed for him and I feel sorry for all the relatives of people he has killed because they will not get any answers now. He has taken his secrets to the grave.

"I used to be his patient, along with my wife, and I always remember him as a very good doctor; We were both staggered to discover what he was really like."

For more than two decades, Shipman was on a prolific killing spree that left at least 215 patients dead. Britain's worst serial killer, who hanged himself in his cell at Wakefield Prison, started his evil career in Todmorden with the murder of 70-year-old Eva Lyons.

A total of 30 deaths from the town in the years 1974-75, while Shipman practised as a family GP at the Abraham Ormerod Medical Centre, were investigated, though only that of Mrs Lyons was proved to be murder.

In Todmorden, the news of his death was met with a mixture of relief and regret that he had cheated his victims families out of a full explanation for his crimes..

Claire Stephens, 48, of Melling's Butchers, in the indoor market added: "I am not sorry he is dead, although by killing himself he has rather cheated all the relatives of the people he killed."

David Bentley, 45, who runs a delicatessen in the same market, said: "He has cheated the system really by hanging himself. If anything, he should have been hanged after he was found guilty.

"Although he has never spoken about what he did I guess he came to terms with it in his own mind and that's why he took his life."

Dennis Gill, 75, of nearby Dawson's Ironmongers, said: "This is the best thing that could have happened and the best end for him.

"After what he did, the end of his life is no great loss to mankind."

Coun Michael Taylor, who knew Shipman well after he cared for his ex-wife while she was pregnant, said: "This brings an end to a very sorry chapter of history. What he did was absolutely appalling."

Calder Valley MP Chris McCafferty said: "Very few people will shed any tears over the death of Harold Shipman.

"He was one of the worst killers in British history, who exploited his position of trust as a family doctor to kill probably more than 200 patients.

"I am only sorry that he never saw fit to admit his crimes.

"With his death, we have however lost the opportunity to gain an explanation of why he acted as he did.

"And equally importantly, we have lost the chance for him to confirm his guilt in many cases.

"This means that too many relatives are still left suspecting their loved ones were murdered by Shipman, but unable to know for certain."