A WISH came true today for the parents of a Whalley soldier murdered by terrorists in Northern Ireland as two of his former Army pals walked free from jail.

Scots Guardsmen Jim Fisher, then 19, and Mark Wright, then 24, were jailed for life for the murder of unarmed teenage dad-of-two Peter McBride, who was shot dead when they opened fire in the Republican New Lodge Road district of north Belfast in September, 1992.

Just months earlier Guardsman Fisher had been a pallbearer at the funeral of Whalley soldier Damian Shackleton, who was gunned down by IRA snipers while on a joint RUC-Army patrol in the same area. The two soldiers were released on licence this morning by Secretary of State Mo Mowlam and were driven away from the notorious Maghaberry Prison, near Lisburn, Co Antrim, by the Ministry of Defence.

Last week Damian Shackleton's parents, Hugh and Joan, who still live in Whalley, added their support to a campaign for the release of their son's friends.

Today a family spokesman said: "While we have to look at the precise details of the release, it is a very hopeful signal, along with yesterday's announcement from Sinn Fein, that events are moving in a positive direction for peace."

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans, in whose constituency the Shackleton family live, was delighted at the news: "Certainly it is the right decision. There is no justification for keeping these two young soldiers behind bars whilst convicted terrorists are being released right, left and centre. They have served their time.

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