Craig Hurcombe's family speak of devastation after samurai sword murder

The family and friends of Craig Hurcombe, a 39-year-old from Rowde near Devizes, have spoken publicly for the first time about the impact of his murder on New Year's Day. Craig was killed by Michael Bretton, a former Royal Navy warehouse manager, who was jealous after the woman he was dating left him to get back together with Craig. Bretton was sentenced to life in prison last month with a minimum term of 29 and a half years.

Craig was attacked as he prepared his lorry for work at a depot in Somerset. He was stabbed with a samurai sword, and his body was buried at the site. Bretton had fitted trackers to both Craig's car and the car of Craig's former partner, and he was waiting for Craig on the morning of the murder. After the killing, Bretton burned Craig's clothes, drove Craig's car out of the depot and set it alight, and used Craig's phone to send messages to his family and friends, pretending to be him.

Craig's mother, Nicola Hurcombe, told the BBC that the ordeal had been a nightmare. "It has ripped my life apart, to be honest," she said. "I was very, very close to him and I just feel like I've lost a big part of my life. I really, really do because I never got to say goodbye."

Craig was a devoted member of Devizes Rugby Club, where he was known for his kindness and humour. A friend said: "He was really kind. He was very funny. He could be quite intense, especially after a game, when the siders were flowing. He was the sort of player that rugby clubs are made on. He filled in everywhere where he could. All he wanted to do was play rugby."

Craig's girlfriend, who had rekindled her relationship with him after splitting from Bretton, said she blamed herself and was struggling to come to terms with the loss. "We wanted to do something to start a kind of new fresh start together and had plans and things, so it's really hard that it's been taken away. He really was, like, my person."

Detectives traced Bretton to a river in Dorset shortly after the murder, where he stopped for three minutes. A search of the river found the samurai sword. The court heard that Bretton had become obsessed with the couple after his relationship with Craig's former partner ended. Craig's family said they could not imagine the fear he must have felt when he was confronted unexpectedly by someone wielding a sword.

As Bretton begins his life sentence, those who knew Craig remember him as a rugby-loving, devoted family member and a friend to many.