When John Derrick and his son Louie watched a murder mystery on TV at Mr Derrick's Bristol home, neither of them could have foreseen he would be stabbed to death three days later.

Louie Derrick, 17, regularly visited his father and tidied up for him.

"When I last saw him he was fine," he said.

"He was sober and we sat down and watched Sherlock Holmes.

"After I visited, I decided to stay in for a couple of days. I then got a phone call when I was watching telly and I was told my dad had been stabbed. I didn't know what to do. I was scared."

In court, father-of-two Mr Derrick, 43, was described as a drunken aggressor whom Bradley Payne feared was armed and out to get him.

But that description is a far cry from the way Louie and Mr Derrick's stepdaughter, Carrie O'Hallaran, remember him.

Miss O'Hallaran, 25, a part-time bar worker of Highridge Road, Bishopsworth, said: "What they said about him was rubbish. My dad never threatened anyone – he was an absolutely brilliant dad who loved his grandchildren and would be there for both of them."

Mr Derrick was born in Basingstoke and was put into care as a teenager before moving with his family to Bristol.

He met his partner, Sarah, who already had daughter Carrie, and the couple had their son, Louie, in 1991.

"I can remember him doing painting and decorating, and he did roofing as well – some quite big jobs, including for the Ministry of Defence," said Miss O'Halloran.

"When I was about four we went to Hartgill Close, Hartcliffe, and then we lived in Knowle for six months before going to Crosscombe Drive, Hartcliffe."

Miss O'Hallaran and her parents used to holiday in Ibiza because her grandparents ran apartments there. But her parents' relationship broke down while she was in her teens.

"My mum had a car crash in 1996 in Brislington. She was drink-driving, she went 20 yards down the road and skidded on black ice," she said.

"She was badly hurt and, following the accident, over a year, my parents' relationship gradually broke down."

Miss O'Hallaran moved around after the split but Louie remained with his dad, living in Chessel Street, Bedminster, and Withywood before arriving in Gatehouse Close around 2001.

Around the same time she had a daughter, Jessica, who is eight, and her father was carrying on with his life.

"John was working on and off doing painting, fixing cars for neighbours, and he would go to his mum's every day in Parson Street, Bedminster," she said.

But her father fell under the influence of new friends and began taking drugs, notably amphetamine. When Louie found out he "went mad" and Mr Derrick stopped – but started drinking.

Miss O'Hallaran said he was beginning to "clean up his act" and she was taking him to see the doctor to make sure he kept on the right track.

"People have said he was aggressive and loud. He was a loud person, he had a loud manner, but he was jolly and generous and he would go out of his way to make other people feel better.

"My uncle grew up in Knowle and he told me they would never ever dream of using a knife if there was trouble, only fists, as it was different then," she said.

"I know for a fact he would never, ever use anything."

Mr Derrick used to play football when he was younger and, later on, liked playing darts with his mates.

"John was friendly with everybody and he would never purposely offend anybody. My nan would tell you how polite he could be," said Miss O'Halloran.

She and Louie were there in hospital when Mr Derrick's life ebbed away.

"I knew he was brain dead. It was just like he was in a deep sleep. Tears kept coming down the side of his face and Louie would have to wipe them away."

Unemployed Louie, of Greenditch Avenue, Hartcliffe, said: "He was the best dad you could ever get and he did everything for me.

"When I found out he was on drugs, he stopped it because I used to play up.

"He always stuck by me and he did everything for me.

"I met my girlfriend and left home and we had a daughter, Maisie, who is a year old on February 22.

"But I still saw him regularly and when I got the phone call I ran from Totterdown and then got a lift to Hartcliffe, and then on to the BRI and Frenchay.

"I didn't know what to do. I was scared and when I got to Frenchay and saw him, it was as if he was sleeping, because he was making exactly the same sound. I told him that I loved him."

Louie stressed his father was a man who liked to help people, and that included Bradley Payne.

"Bradley knew him and he would only come down when he wanted something.

"My dad would still help him. He didn't like people to go without. My dad would go without himself rather than anyone else.

"After all that's happened, I just think Bradley Payne is a scumbag."

Louie's mother, Sarah Bell, 44, from Yatton, said: "John was a loud person – that was just his nature.

"That doesn't give someone the right to take his life. He was a great dad and he helped loads of people.

"He did anything for anyone if he could. He wasn't a bad man."