The mother of murdered Worcestershire postmaster Craig Hodson-Walker has said she is still trying to come to terms with the violent robbery which killed her son and injured her husband.

Speaking at the launch of a new police scheme which could help prevent further similar tragedies, Judy Hodson-Walker said the community was sent into shock after her son was shot in the chest in the attack at Fairfield Post Office, near Bromsgrove, in January 2009.

“On a day-to-day basis we do still worry that something will happen,” she said. “But West Mercia Police are pulling out all the stops in the way they deal with these situations and they are progressing.

“We live in a very rural area and one of the comments that we got when we moved here was that nothing happens very much in Fairfield.

“My family has been victim to one of the worst things that could ever happen to somebody. It shocked the community and it shocked us obviously. Every day people are still trying to come to terms with it.  Not just ourselves but friends and family and the people who have continued working for us.

“It’s something that will take a long time to heal.”

Mrs Hodson-Walker and her husband Ken are now planning to sell up and leave the area.

“We don’t want to leave because Craig was here and he put an awful lot of work into it," she said. "But unfortunately we do need to move forward. Without Craig it’s just not the same.”

Now she has helped West Mercia Police to launch a new scheme Open All Hours which will allow shopkeepers to report suspicious behaviour to police and also help officers to alert shopkeepers of potential threats to be aware of.

Bromsgrove District Inspector Julian Smith, of West Mercia Police, said: “It’s going to improve the security of 7-11 and 24-7 stores, petrol stations and newsagents.

“We’re asking for any employees and owners who see anything suspicious to let us know straight away and we’ll share that information and use it.

"If we receive information about serious offences we’ll let the stores and the shops know about what vehicles what persons what to look out for. Already to date we’ve had five arrests and that’s people from stores close to Fairfield preventing crimes.”

* Three Birmingham men were jailed for life with a minimum of 34 years last December for the murder of Craig Hodson-Walker and the attempted murder of Ken Hodson-Walker.

Christopher Morrissey, aged 32, his brother Declan Morrissey, aged 34, and Anselm Ribera, also 34, were found guilty following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.