Friends of murdered Wigan dad Christopher Hughes pay tribute and celebrate his name being cleared

And they celebrated with an impromptu firework display after the trial was told that the 37-year-old had not committed the rape that the bloodthirsty gang had executed him for.

This week nine men were sent down for a total of 235 years by a Liverpool Crown Court judge for the kidnap and murder of Chris, who lived in Marsh Green.

The trial heard that a teenaged girl was raped in Worsley Hall in February last year and that word spread that Chris was responsible.

A search party went out and after 24 hours he was snatched off the street, bundled into the boot of a car and driven off to a country lane in Skelmersdale where he was stabbed and hacked to death and his body dumped down an embankment to be found by a dog-walker four days later.

The hearing was told that there was no evidence that Chris had raped anyone and that semen samples recovered from the girl’s underwear were categorically not his.

Friend Leanne Timon said: “When that information was read out in court and when the judge said it again at the end all his friends were so glad.

"Dean O’Neill-Davey (one of the killers) was shouting at Hughesy’s family from the dock saying they were supporting a nonce. It was horrible.

"But there was no way Chris was responsible for raping anyone and yet his name was wrongly dragged through the mud for a year and blackened in court when he wasn’t there to defend himself.

"We were that happy when his name was cleared during the trial that we let some fireworks off on the roundabout in Worsley Hall.

"I had known Hughesy for about 15 years and he was a good lad. He used to live in Hindley where his family are from.

"I was there when the gang were looking for him. It was awful to find out what they did to him. I have had many sleepless nights over it.

"The community was grieving for him just like his mum and his three sisters. Now we can proudly say his name has been cleared.”

Both Leanne and another friend, Zoe Chadwick, described Chris as a “joker” who put other people first.

Zoe added: “I would describe Chris as one of a kind.

"He wore his heart on his sleeve and put everyone else ahead of himself.

"He loved a joke and had people in belly laughs. He also knew how to turn tears into smiles.”He’s greatly missed by the community.”