Supporters of the man convicted of the Clydach murders have been told to stay away from the village by a community leader.

Campaigners are alleged to have visited pubs in the south Wales village on Saturday night in an attempt to get a petition signed in support of David Morris, which was started by his former wife, Wendy.

Mr Morris' family said it was not aware of any of its supporters being in the village.

Special prayers have been said for the victims

Morris, 40, was sentenced to four life sentences at Swansea Crown Court on Friday for the "massacre" of four members of the same family in June 1999.

Mandy Power, 34, her disabled 80-year-old mother and her daughters Katie, 10, and Emily, eight, were battered to death when Morris embarked on an "orgy of savagery".

Mrs Morris from Penlan in Swansea - along with other family and friends - has raised a 350-signature petition backing a retrial.

But community councillor Sylvia Lewis said Morris' supporters had no business being in Clydach, saying it was an "insult" to the families of the victims.

Criticism

"It is sad they were in this village trying to drum up from support - stay away from Clydach, let us get back on track," said Cllr Lewis.

"They were apparently on licensed premises, looking for people who had had a drink, asking them to sign a petition.

"It is an insult to everyone living in the village."

Debra Morris, David Morris' sister, denied any family supporters had visited Clydach to get the petition signed.

But Wendy Morris said: "He is not a murderer. I'm absolutely positive.

"I've seen him in drink and drugs and he is not that sort of person," she said.

The house was burned out after the attack

Meanwhile, prayers were said on Sunday at St Mary's Church in Clydach aiming to heal some of the emotional wounds uncovered by the horrifying details revealed during the trial.

The man leading the service called on the community to continue to show courage and patience as the reality of Morris's conviction sinks in.

Fresh floral tributes marking the third anniversary last Thursday of the brutal killings have been laid outside the family home in Kelvin Road.

Reverend Tim Hewitt, the church's vicar, held the funeral for the four victims and was asked by relatives to be their media spokesman in the weeks following the tragedy.

He said the loss of Mrs Power and her family was still affecting the community.

A floral tribute marks the third anniversary of the killings

But his advice for his congregation was to continue watching the course of the judicial process unfold.

The village - a few miles north of Swansea - is divided over Morris's conviction for the extraordinarily vicious crime which shocked the nation.

Friday's unanimous jury verdict has done little to quell suspicions that people other than Morris were involved in either the killings or the near-successful attempt to clean the scene of forensic evidence.

'Show courage'

But Rev Hewitt urged the community to be patient.

"I think they have learnt to be patient and to show courage, and to wait for things to take their course.

"And I think the community will carry on it that way, being patient."

Meanwhile, David Morris's girlfriend is recovering at home in the north of England after taking an overdose of sleeping tablets.

Thirty-three year-old Mandy Jewell was admitted to hospital in Swansea shortly after the sentence was announced.

But she was discharged on Saturday and returned to her native Halifax.