Frank Crowther's son has described how he came to forgive his dad for killing his mum.

Tony Crowther, 55, hugged and comforted his frail father in the dock at the Old Bailey, after he was sentenced for killing his mother.

In an exclusive interview with the Sutton Guardian, Mr Crowther explained he had hated his father when he first learned what had happened.

He said: "At the time I was in shock and wanted him to be ok, I wanted him to make it [after he tried to kill himself]"

"I was anxious about him and wanted to see him, but when I arrived on the ward at St Helier and heard his voice, I changed. I suddenly couldn't face him, I was angry."

Three months after the killing, was the first time he felt he could visit his father at Tolworth mental hospital.

He said he still did not know how he was going to react when he saw him.

He said: "He asked me if I had disowned him. He asked me if I could forgive him, and I said I couldn't."

But the CAD technician said his feelings changed when he could understand the circumstances surrounding his father's "moment of madness" and how see how much his father bitterly regretted what happened.

He said neither of his parents had ever spoken to him about his father's mental health issues.

He said: "I would phone them every week, and they didn't tell me anything was wrong. I didn't know how he was struggling.

"I just wish they had said something and I would have been there straight away to help."

"They'd ask me to fix something or get an alarm clock working when I visited, but I just wish they had told me what they really needed help with."

"There were little things I thought were strange, I'd asked them for their Christmas present list and they still hadn't provided it, but there was nothing to suggest things were so bad."

He had looked after his mum for a month in the summer of last year after his dad had a fall, but said while his mum was "a bit doddery", there was nothing to suggest she need more help than Mr Crowther could handle.

The former Cheam Infants pupil said: "She must have really got worse in those final months, which is why dad struggled to cope and things spiralled out of control."

In his final conversation with them in the days before the killing, he said he could tell something was wrong.

He said: "Dad sounded really down and really depressed, so I said to him I could come to see them, but he said it was ok. I phoned later in the week but there was no answer."

He said: "He is awfully regretful about what happened. Quite often he has cried with me. He can't understand it, he can't believe he did it, but he has accepted he does. He said he was happy.

"He says he misses being able to go home and talk to her about what they had been doing that day."

He said: "They were a loving couple. I had a happy upbringing.They were my parents and they were special to me, both of them were.

"They would walk the dogs, they would go for drives in Richmond Park."

They were also keen gardeners, and even amateur winemakers.

He added: "Neighbours would always see them holding hands. I remember them cuddling a lot. I've no doubt they were very much in love until the end. My dad enjoyed looking after my mum."

"That's why it was such a shock to me when I got the news, I couldn't believe it."

The Crowthers lived in the house in Lumley Road all of their married life.

Ron Crowther had been in the Navy and had been in charge of a landing craft during the Normandy landings of WWII.

The couple met working in a shoe shop, Lilly and Skinner, in Croydon where he was the manager and she was an assistant.

He went on to run a shoe shop, True Form, in Epsom where she work on Saturdays, while bringing up theirs son, Tony.

He left to become an administrative clerk, while she went on to doing part time jobs, including working shoe and antique shops, in Cheam Village.

They had retired together more than 20 years ago.