LEGAL action which could finally nail the killer of Southampton dad Eddie Maddick is ready to hit the courtroom.

Widow Caroline Maddick has spent more than £7,000 on legal fees getting the case prepared in a desperate bid to secure a longed-for conviction.

Now a final fundraising drive is needed to get the case heard in a civil court.

Mother-of-two Mrs Maddick, 46, needs to find at least £5,000 to cover barristers' fees and related costs for the hearing.

"Everything is ready; we are literally knocking on the court's door now," she said.

"It just needs that final push. This is the last thing I can do for Eddie. I have got to do it.

"Getting to this stage has been far more expensive that we thought it would, but I am not giving up now.

"It has been nearly three years since Eddie's death and we are putting our lives back together, but there is still unfinished business."

Mrs Maddick, a special needs assistant, launched the Eddie Maddick Action Fund in June 2002, after the man accused of battering her husband to death on a Southampton footpath was found not guilty.

Barry Whittle, formerly of Hill Lane, Southampton, had been accused of killing severely disabled Mr Maddick in a cut way near Tesco supermarket at Milbrook in July 2001.

The then 21-year-old walked free from Winchester Crown Court after jurors took less than four hours to find him not guilty of murder and manslaughter.

Mrs Maddick, with family members and friends, embarked on a series of fundraising events which raised more than £7,000 to fund legal proceedings aimed at bringing whoever killed Mr Maddick to justice.

However, after paying to obtain court papers and barristers' time to examine the case, only about £60 is left.

Determined Mrs Maddick, of Bampton Close, Millbrook, has battled through endless red tape, expense and frustration to get this far.

Angry that no help is available for families seeking justice for their murdered loved ones, she has pledged to set up a charity or support organisation for people in the same situation once a conviction has been secured.

"My aim is to take this as far as I can - to the Court of Human Rights if I have to," said Mrs Maddick, mother to Kelly, 23, and Warren, 19.

"I have got to see some good come out of this, even if it takes me the rest of my life. We need an organisation set up to help change the system."

The bloodied body of Mr Maddick, who had debilitating myoclonic epilepsy, was found dumped under a hedge off Tebourba Way on Sunday, July 29, 2001.

He had been stamped on and repeatedly kicked, leaving him with appalling injuries including a fractured skull, jaw, nose, cheekbone and ribs.

Mrs Maddick said: "Eddie suffered a violent and totally unprovoked death at the hands of a cold-blooded killer.

"Whoever did it is capable of doing it again. This person must be stopped before another family has to go through what we have been through."

The murder investigation, codenamed Operation Erskine, is now effectively closed, pending any forensic science advances.

Det Sgt Jim Park, who led the inquiry, said: "Both forensic and real evidence have been reviewed and no further suspects have come to light. We are not looking for anyone else in connection with this matter."

Barry Whittle, now 22, has since returned to his native Northern Ireland, where he has been charged with a number of offences. These include two counts of attempted murder after allegedly deliberately driving a car at two brothers in Londonderry in September 2003.

Donations to the Eddie Maddick Action Fund can be made at any branch of the Nationwide building society, quoting account number 0312/703719228, or via Sarah Cole at the Daily Echo.