A Hereford doctor who cut his 'forensic teeth' on one of Britain's most notorious mass murders has hung up his stethoscope at the age of 72.

Dr Donald McGlashon has just retired after 30 years as both a GP at Wargrave House surgery in Hereford and a senior police surgeon in the city.

"I think the most memorable thing for me has been the family medicine tradition in Hereford," he said. "The family tradition, and seeing people grow up, has been very enjoyable. But the two things that have changed for the worse in Hereford have been the drug culture and alcohol."

Before settling down as a GP in Hereford, Mr McGlashon worked in forensic medicine at the London Hospital in the pioneering days of the science.

There he was called upon to work on the bodies of the victims of John Christie - a chilling murderer who was believed to have been a necrophiliac and kept 'trophies' from his prey. Christie strangled his victims with a tie and hid the corpses in and around his home at 10 Rillington Place, which was immortalised in a film of the same name telling the tale of the grisly deeds.

Timothy Evans was hanged after being wrongfully convicted of the murders - a miscarriage of justice, which helped pave the way for the abolition of the death penalty in Britain.

Mr McGlashon spent four months working intensively on all the victims, including Evans' wife who died after seeking Christie's help to perform an abortion on the strength of his alleged medical training.

Mr McGlashon recalled: "It was an interesting case to work on because such a large number of people were involved and there was a total miscarriage of justice. Evans was eventually given a pardon in 1966."

Mr McGlashon now intends to remain at his Burghill home and pursue his interests in gardening, travelling and black and white photography.