FOR eight years Peter Merritt has fought a lone battle in the memory of his murdered wife and the mother of his children.

Finally, as this paper reports today, that fight has come to an end with Peter accepting a sum from lawyers representing Southampton-based care provider Carewatch as it was in 2007, who had employed his wife Sarah.

It was their alleged negligence, claimed Peter, that led to her appalling death at the hands of murderer David Tiley.

It was a fight that Peter should not have had to undertake, and certainly not for such a long period.

Justice is seldom swift, but in this case it has been so terribly slow it had only added to the prolonged agony of the Merritt family.

It must be stressed that no culpability has been admitted by Carewatch, which has since been sold and is now under new management.

The company continues to hold the contract for care work for Southampton City Council as they did on that fateful day when Sarah died.

That the authority is refusing to make known the findings of an investigation into what happened is unacceptable.

Peter Merritt explains that his battle has never been about money but in doing right by his beloved Sarah.

Although he has settled his claim out of court, his story given freely to this paper today enables him to put into words his anger and disgust.