THE parents of a teenager who was killed by her boyfriend say they are ‘devastated’ after being told he is going to be released from prison.

Carly Fairhurst died at the age of 19 in 2006 after Darren Pilkington had knocked her down a flight of stairs.

Pilkington was imprisoned for an unspecified length of time after being given an indeterminate sentence for her manslaughter.

It was decided at a parole hearing on October 7 that he will be released on licence and Carly’s parents, Trevor and Sheila Fairhurst, of Park Road, Hindley, fear that Pilkington 'will kill again' and are warning people to stay away from him.

Sheila, 59, said: “We are devastated at the news that our daughter’s killer will be released because he will kill again. It is just a matter of time.

“We feared this news could come one day but we had faith that a mentally ill killer would remain in prison.

“He cannot hurt us any more than he already has, but someone else’s daughter or son could be in danger.

“We cannot warn other families enough after the damage he has caused to our family.”

Pilkington, 33, has been applying for parole for 10 years after serving his minimum tariff of three years and 53 days.

He could have already been released had it not been for him not being in his cell at an open prison when he should have been there.

Pilkington was moved to a higher security prison following that incident.

Carly was just 15 when she started a relationship with Pilkington, who she knew before he was jailed in 2001 for punching and killing Paul Akister, from Hindley, outside a pub.

She became Pilkington’s secret prison pen pal and when he was released they moved into a flat together.

Sheila added: “Paul was his friend and Carly was his girlfriend. Therefore you would think that he cared about them in some way, but look what he did to them.”

The conditions of Pilkington’s release have not yet been finalised.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The release of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences is entirely a matter for the independent parole board.

"Public protection is our priority. IPP sentence prisoners are subject to strict licence conditions for a minimum of 10 years and are liable to be recalled to custody if they breach them."