Protest banners claiming the innocence of convicted murderer David Morris have been taken down by council workmen in south Wales.

The signs were hung from bridges over busy roads in the Dyfatty and Ravenhill areas of Swansea by supporters of the man convicted of killing a family of four in Clydach, Swansea Valley.

Mandy Power and her daughters suffered horrific injuries

Daubed with "Killer Walks Free", the banners were taken down after a series of complaints.

Two councillors said they had received several calls from members of the public about the protest.

Relatives of 40-year-old Morris - jailed for life last Friday - refuse to believe that he battered to death Mandy Power, her two children, and her elderly mother at their home in Kelvin Road three years ago.

The horrific case has split the community, with other residents mounting their own poster campaign declaring support for relatives of the four victims.

Invalid Doris Dawson was battered in bed

On Monday, other supporters of the man convicted of the Clydach murders were told to stay away from the village by a community leader.

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

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" in June 1999.

Morris's ex-wife, from Penlan in Swansea has been helped by family and friends to raise a 350-signature petition backing a retrial.

Fires were started at the house after the attack

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.

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

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

Morris's girlfriend has been recovering with relatives 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.