The father of serial killer Steve Wright says he feels “sort of responsible” as he “brought the boy on to the Earth”.

Ipswich Star: Steve WrightSteve Wright (Image: Archant)

Wright was given a “whole life” sentence for the 2006 murders of five prostitutes in Ipswich, as he was told his “targeted campaign of murder” warranted the harshest punishment available to the judge.

The killer, then 49, was convicted of murdering Tania Nicol, 19, Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29, following a trial at Ipswich Crown Court in 2008.

Jurors heard the naked bodies of the women, who all worked in the Ipswich red light area, were found in isolated locations near the town between December 2 and December 12 2006.

Wright’s father, Conrad Wright, told BBC News he still found what happened “hard to believe”.

Ipswich Star: The residents of London Road coming together to forge a new sense of community in the film London Road which receives its first public screening in Ipswich at the beginning of June. The film, direcetd by Rufus Norris, stars Olivia Colman, Anita Dobson and Tom Hardy.The residents of London Road coming together to forge a new sense of community in the film London Road which receives its first public screening in Ipswich at the beginning of June. The film, direcetd by Rufus Norris, stars Olivia Colman, Anita Dobson and Tom Hardy. (Image: NDOVE)

He said: “When someone gets found guilty, if you like, and you don’t make a complaint or start crying out for help, you tend to think there must be some truth in it.

“You feel sort of responsible in a way - you brought the boy on to the Earth - and if it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have been there, and if he weren’t here, they wouldn’t be killed, would they?

“You can’t just sit back and say ‘it’s nothing to do with me’, because it is.

“It feels rough, really.”

Mr Wright told the BBC his relationship with his son is “non-existent” now.

“I haven’t heard from him, even prior to the court case, not a word. All I had one day was a call from his solicitor asking if I could supply him with some cigarette money,” he said.

His comments come as a new film is to be released about the murders.

Broadchurch actress Olivia Colman will star in London Road - joining the original cast of the theatre production at London’s National Theatre - which documents the events that shook Suffolk in 2006 when the bodies of the five women were found.

The film will be previewed at the Ipswich Film Theatre on Monday night, ahead of its world premiere in London at the Ritzy in Brixton on June 9 before being released nationwide on June 12.