A WRITER whose sister was murdered by two of Britain’s most notorious serial killers is to give a talk on the subject of forgiveness.

Marian Partington, whose sister Lucy was abducted and killed by Fred and Rosemary West, will speak at Durham Cathedral tomorrow (October 18).

Lucy Partington disappeared from a Gloucester bus stop in 1973 after visiting a friend. Her dismembered body was discovered 21 years later hidden in Fred West’s Cromwell Street home.

Her sister has since written the book If You Sit Very Still in response to those traumatic events. Tomorrow, she will deliver a talk entitled Becoming Forgiving in the Prior’s Hall, of Durham Cathedral at 7pm as part of Durham Book Festival.

Ms Partington, who works in prisons to raise awareness about restorative justice, said: "The grotesque details surrounding Lucy’s death are part of my life. It is not possible to pretend it didn’t happen. It is hardly possible to understand.

"But there is something about trying to get the measure of it before we can let go of it".

The event will include a conversation with Canon Stephen Cherry of Durham Cathedral.

He said: "Since I first heard Marian’s story through The Forgiveness Project, I have been enormously impressed both by her emotional honesty and her determination somehow to bring good out of evil."

He added: "What makes Marian’s contribution particularly helpful is the way she burrows into the meaning of her experience, through layer after layer of darkness and despair, until she finds something of God at the heart of it. She has a message of down to earth hope for us all."

Tickets, priced £5 or £4 for concessions, are available from The Gala Theatre Box Office on 0191 332 4041.