Triple-murderer Erin Patterson has stolen “years of love and laughter”, family members of the victims poisoned by her toxic beef Wellington lunch have told a court.

Patterson, 50, was last month found guilty of killing three relatives – and attempting to kill another – with a death cap mushroom-laced meal in July 2023.

In a hearing on Monday, ahead of her sentencing on 8 September, a group of relatives gave emotional statements about the impact of their loved ones’ brutal deaths.

The sole survivor of the lunch, local pastor Ian Wilkinson, said he felt “half alive” without his late wife Heather – but made a powerful offer of forgiveness to the woman who killed her and almost took his life too.

In the days after the meal at Patterson’s home, her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, died in hospital, as well as Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66.

Mr Wilkinson became desperately ill, but recovered after a liver transplant and weeks of treatment in hospital.

Patterson’s estranged husband Simon Patterson had also been invited to the lunch but pulled out at the last minute. He has accused Patterson of a years-long campaign to poison him too – but three charges of attempted murder relating to him were dropped on the eve of the trial.

One after another, in quick succession, on Monday the court heard a series of victim impact statements which detailed how Erin Patterson’s crimes blew up two close-knit families.

Mr Patterson spoke of his inability to articulate how much he missed his parents. Ruth Dubios – the daughter of Ian and Heather Wilkinson – told the court Patterson had used her parents’ natural kindness against them. Don Patterson’s 100-year-old mother shared her grief at having outlived him.

But it was Ian Wilkinson’s turn in the witness box which floored the courtroom. He has barely said a public word since the fatal lunch, but today he walked into court and confronted the woman who murdered his wife, snuffed out the lives of his two best friends, and left him on the brink of death.

Sitting across from Erin Patterson, Mr Wilkinson opened his statement by tearfully paying tribute to his “beautiful wife”.

“She was compassionate, intelligent, brave, witty – simply a delightful person who loved sharing life with others,” he said.

“If she could help somebody she would.”

“I only feel half alive without her,” he added.

Not only did Patterson rob him of growing old with his wife, and his children of their mother, Mr Wilkinson said, but she also took his two best friends, Don and Gail Patterson.

“They were good and solid people… We encouraged and supported each other for about 50 years. My life is greatly impoverished without them.”

Addressing Patterson directly, he questioned what “foolishness” had led her to think “murder could be the solution to her problems” – especially given the crime was committed against people who bore her only good will.

As the pastor neared the end of his statement, his voice became clearer and stronger as he spoke about his desire for justice, before offering Patterson his forgiveness.

“I bear her no ill will. My prayer for her is that she uses her time in jail wisely to become a better person,” he said, to gasps in the courtroom.

“Now I am no longer Erin Patterson’s victim. She has become the victim of my kindness.”

Through a family spokesperson, Simon Patterson also told the court of his grief – which has been compounded by the “abrasive” court process and at-times “deplorable” media maelstrom which followed the crimes.

He noted in particular the distress that the past few years have caused his children, who must now confront a life without their grandparents and their mother – something which caused his estranged wife to draw in a sharp breath.

“Like all of us, they face the daunting challenge of trying to comprehend what she has done,” his statement said.

“The grim reality is they live in an irreparably broken home with a solo parent, when almost everybody knows their mother murdered their grandparents.”

He vowed that he would continue following the example his parents set for him, by drawing on God’s strength and reflecting his love.

“I am faithful, however, they are with God and I will see them again,” he said.

Among the other relatives to have their statements read in court was the sole surviving sister of Gail and Heather, Don Patterson’s brothers, and his nephew who grew up idolising the former school teacher.

“I always wanted to be perpetually young at heart like him,” Tim Patterson said of his uncle. “How could someone like this… leave the earth this way?”

“Years of love and laughter” have been stolen as a result of his relatives’ murders, he added: “[And] the world is poorer for it”.

Prosecutors concluded the hearing by arguing that Patterson should be sentenced to life in prison, without parole.

Jane Warren told the court Patterson’s actions should be considered “worst category offending” – pointing out the level of planning required, and that if she had come clean about the mushrooms, when asked by authorities, the lives of her victims could potentially have been saved.

Furthermore, the prosecution argued, Patterson spent the days after the lunch disposing of evidence and lying to police.

“It is a crime that is so cruel and so horrific, that in our submission the offender is not deserving of this court’s mercy,” Ms Warren said.

Patterson’s lawyer Colin Mandy agreed nothing but life in prison would be appropriate, but argued that parole should be allowed as his client’s notoriety means she will likely spend a lot of her jail term in isolation.

Justice Christopher Beale will hand down his sentenced in Melbourne on 8 September.

The UK could bask in 30C heat and sunshine this bank holiday Monday, before blustery winds and rain arrive.

The Midlands and the north-west are set to see the highest temperatures, while Wales may be in store for its hottest late August bank holiday on record.

It comes after the Met Office said last week that the summer was already on track to be among the UK’s hottest on record, with four heatwaves declared.

But the heat will be short-lived, as overnight the remnants of Hurricane Erin are set to bring in wet and windy weather – first to Northern Ireland, and then across most of the UK.

Monday’s highest temperatures are most likely to be around the West Midlands, the Welsh border, Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester.

But further south, the hundreds of thousands of people expected to attend the Notting Hill Carnival in west London can expect plenty of warm weather, with possible highs of 28C.

Parts of eastern Wales could reach 27C – threatening to break its late August bank holiday record of 26.5C, recorded at Crossway in 1991.

Northern Ireland could also break its record of 23.8C, set in Banagher in 1983.

Most of the UK will stay dry and sunny throughout the day, but rain will start arriving in Northern Ireland and Scotland’s Western Isles by late afternoon, along with blustery winds of up to 40mph.

The rest of the week looks much more changeable with showers or longer spells of rain expected, as well as windier, cooler conditions.

This is in part due to the remnants of Hurricane Erin getting closer to the UK, having skirted the Caribbean and east coast of the US this week.

Temperatures in East Anglia and south-east England could still reach 27C on Tuesday, but by Friday the mercury will drop to between 16-19C.

The Met Office expects rain to persist throughout the week – which will be welcome in many parts of the country after a particularly dry summer.

South Farnborough in Hampshire has not seen any measurable rain in August so far, while many other locations across southern England have received less than 1mm of rain this month.

Those hoping to make the most of the warm weather while it lasts may have to grapple with travel delays and cancellations.

A strike on the CrossCountry network could make returning from Leeds festival tricky, while engineering works will mean no LNER trains in or out of London King’s Cross.

Customers are being told not to travel on any CrossCountry routes, aside from those from Birmingham towards Penzance, Paignton, Bournemouth and Guildford.

There will be no CrossCountry trains between Birmingham, Reading and the south coast of England. There will also be no service between Leicester, Cambridge and Stansted Airport.

The RNLI also warned people planning a trip to the coast to use lifeguarded beaches and to beware of rough seas.

Prolonged dry periods throughout this summer have led to a significant shortfall of water in England, with hosepipe bans declared for millions – some of which are set to remain into the winter.

This means the UK is on course for one of its worst harvests on record, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, a statutory research organisation.

While linking climate change with specific individual weather events can be difficult, scientists say that climate change is generally making bouts of hot weather longer, more intense and more frequent.

Four summer heatwaves in quick succession after an unusually warm spring suggests climate change is having some effect on 2025’s weather.