THE partner of a man murdered by a crazed woman wearing a "scream" mask, has left Bolton to pick up the pieces of her life.

Debbie O'Brien had been due to marry Mr Robert Wilkie, who was gunned down outside his home in Holland Street, Radcliffe, by Hell's Angel Heather Stephenson-Snell who had been on a mission to murder his neighbour.

Today, friends of the couple told how Ms O'Brien is still struggling to come to terms with the death of her fiance as Stephenson-Snell this week began a life sentence for the Halloween night killing.

Mr wilkie was shot as jealous Stephenson-Snell, aged 46, of Crombie Avenue, York, drove to Radcliffe to kill the new girlfriend of her ex lover Adrian Sinclair.

Stephenson-Snell amassed a collection of knives and a sawn-off shotgun, and dressed up in a ghoulish costume and Scream mask in a plan to execute Sinclair's new girlfriend Diane Lomax.

As she tried to confront Ms Lomax at her home, neighbour Mr Wilkie went to his front door to investigate the commotion outside and was gunned down.

Shane and Susannah Houghton, friends of Mr Wilkie and Ms O'Brien, recounted the terrible night that ended with Mr Houghton cradling the dying Mr Wilkie in his arms.

Mr Houghton, watched over him, stroking his face for 45 minutes before he died.

He still suffers from flashbacks and nightmares 12 months after the shooting.

He said: "I was holding Bob for what felt like a lifetime. I felt so helpless that I couldn't do more. He just had a fixed looked in his eyes and stayed calm throughout."

After Mr Wilkie died, Mr Houghton said he sat down on the ground and burst into floods of tears.

The Houghtons say they will leave the Radcliffe area in a bid to escape the painful reminders of last Halloween.

And Mrs Houghton, who is the sister of one-time stripper Sinclair, said her brother had assumed a different name and had gone into hiding since the murder.

Mrs Houghton said: "Heather was very possessive, constantly mithering Adrian and she wouldn't leave him alone.

"But she used him, leaving him for America and saying that she didn't want to know.

"When she came back, she couldn't accept that he had moved on. Adrian has done nothing wrong and just wants a peaceful life."

Dianne Lomax, who lived next door to Mr Wilkie, has also moved away. Mrs Houghton added: "All Debbie talked about was Bob and it was clear that they were obviously in love.

"He was the love of her life and he was so tragically taken away from her."

And she paid tribute to Mr Wilkie. She said: "He was one of the most lovely men that you could meet.

"He was a real family man and was often playing with water pistols with kids in the street."