STEPHEN Seddon posed as a modest hero after his first attempt to kill his parents failed. .

He tried to kill his parents, Bob and Patricia by driving them into the Bridgewater Canal, at Timperley, on March 20 last year.

His 16-year-old nephew, Daniel, was also a passenger in the car. 20.

After his family survived the canal plunge, Seddon claimed to have rescued his nephew and father, and praised the fire service for getting his mum out in the nick of time.

It was only after his parents were blasted to death four months later that police re-examined the apparent accident.

Speaking to Messenger after the faked crash Seddon - also known as Nic - was full of praise for the fire service.

He said: ”I am not a hero, the real heroes are the firefighters.

“They were fantastic, they were amazing.”

Along with his father, Bob, he posed with the firefighters who had carried out the rescue operation, at the spot on Canal Road where the hired BMW had plunged into the water.

In a phone interview he claimed that, after getting himself out by smashing open his window, he managed to get his dad and Daniel out of the car.

He said the car must have hit a brick to send it veering into the water.

He spoke of pulling his nephew, Daniel, to the canal bank, after sitting on the car roof to kick out the glass with his bare heels.

He claimed he then pulled his dad out and stayed in the water to try to keep his mum calm.

Firefighters rescued Patricia and she was resuscitated on the canal bank. Seddon said at the time: “The fire brigade were brilliant.

“This guy dived in and came across with a rope on him.

“They dragged me out and I collapsed.

“Then another fire guy went in. They smashed a side window with an axe.

“They just had seconds to get my mum out. The car was fully submerged by now.

“If they had not got her out in the next couple of moments she was finished.

“They managed to pull her out of a little window and get her to the bank. They did CPR on her and brought her back to life.”

Messenger also later spoke to Seddon’s mum, Patricia, about the canal plunge.

She said she thought she was going to die when water flooded the car.

"I just thought my number is up.

"It was so frightening but there was not a lot I could do. I think I froze."

Tragically, four months later, Patricia and husband Bob were killed - blasted to death in their Sale home by their son.