Russell Bishop may be sued for allegedly damaging the clothes of the two Babes in the Wood murder victims.

Bishop was cleared of strangling the nine-year-old girls but the family of one victim is considering civil action against him in a bid to link him to the crimes.

They would claim £15 damages in an action that could cost them £4,000.

The family of Nicola Fellows, who was strangled with playmate Karen Hadaway in the Wild Park, Brighton, in 1986, have tried civil action before but the case was thrown out.

Now Nicola's uncle Ian Heffron, a former policeman, and other relatives plan to try again.

Bishop, jailed for life in 1990 for the attempted murder of a seven-year-old girl, was due for his first parole hearing this month although sources said the prospect of his early release was slim.

The hearing has now been delayed three months, giving Nicola's family more time to prepare their case.

February is the month in which Nicola was killed and also the month of her birthday and Mr Heffron argued that any suggestion of Bishop's release now would be insensitive.

Mr Heffron said: "It has only been put back three months but that gives us time to prepare ourselves for the civil case."

Nicola's family intend writing to Bishop in jail, asking him to admit responsibility for the girls' deaths.

Mr Heffron said if Bishop refused they would apply to take him to a small claims court. The family is also hoping for progress from a Sussex Police review of the murders.

Central to the case was a blue and white Pinto sweatshirt. Mr Heffron said fibres found on it matched those on the clothes worn by the girls.

At the time of the original trial, the prosecution failed to convince the jury that the sweatshirt belonged to Bishop.

Mr Heffron said the family believed they could prove a link and now that the Government had scrapped the "double jeopardy" rule, which made it impossible for someone to be tried for the same murder twice, they wanted Bishop to be re-tried.

Mr Heffron, 48, who lives in Wales, his brother Nigel and daughter Lorna met Sussex Police in Portsmouth last week.

The family has vowed not to rest until the person responsible for the killings has been brought to justice.