A 17-year-old girl who gave birth to a murder victim's twins has made a new plea for help to catch his killers.

Kirsty McIntosh, of Little Hulton, is preparing for her first Christmas with babies Matthew Thomas and Paul Stephen - but without boyfriend Paul Croft.

Paul, of Eccles, was beaten to death by a 14-strong mob in Pendlebury on March 24, a month after the couple learned they were expecting twins.

He was walking home from a pub in Swinton when he was attacked. He suffered severe head injuries and died a week later.

Last New Year, as they celebrated their engagement, Paul promised Kirsty they would end 2005 together.

But now, although she has the support of her mother and stepfather, she says she feels very much alone.

She said: "I miss him every moment. I just want to know what happened. It really annoys me they're still out there living happily while I'm struggling so hard. They should pay for what they have done.

"I would be really grateful if someone would come forward with any information at all."

Kirsty and the twins will spend Christmas Day at her grandparents' home in Prestwich with her mother, Linda Docherty, aged 40, and her two teenager brothers.

But she cannot help remembering last Christmas when she left the family celebrations early to spend the evening with Paul.

She said: "Even though I was there when he died, I still think he's going to walk through the door."

And Kirsty cannot erase the memory of her last phone call to Paul as he walked home from the New Market pub, in Bolton Road, Swinton. She said: "He told me he was walking home, then he said it was all kicking off. That was the last time I spoke to him. I didn't know what had happened until I rang his house the next morning."

Police received two calls saying a man was being attacked and they found Paul lying in Sandy Path.

He was taken to Hope Hospital where he died a week later, clutching a scan of the twins and with Kirsty by his side.

Police have arrested 11 people on suspicion of Paul's murder but they have all been released without charge.

Kirsty said: "He missed the boys being born, their first smiles and now their first Christmas.

"He was my best friend, my boyfriend, everything to me and I'll always love him. "I'll do anything to help the police catch whoever killed him but I need to get on with my life, I need to think of my boys. I can't keep making these appeals, they're too upsetting."