The son of one of the Yorkshire Ripper's victims tonight takes part in a television programme trying to find out if the mass killer has ever shown a shred of remorse.

Richard McCann is seen revisiting the playing field where Bradford lorry driver Peter Sutcliffe left the body of Mr McCann's mother Wilma in 1975.

He also talks to two former prison visitors who worked with the police to see if Sutcliffe, from Heaton, ever expressed regret.

Mr McCann, now 35 and living in Leeds, is hoping to form a support group for the children of the 13 women the Ripper murdered. He appeals for them to get in touch in the BBC1 show: One Life - The Ripper Murdered My Mum.

He said the visit to the Prince Philip Playing Fields in Chapeltown, Leeds, had been "very emotional."

He said: "Just being in the field there was very upsetting as that was the place she was found. I have looked at the field but never walked onto it before now and it took a lot."

He reveals he had written to Sutcliffe, now in high security Broadmoor hospital, asking him to show some remorse.

But he never got a reply and believes the lack of a "sorry" proves the Ripper should never be considered for parole.

He said: "I can't seek revenge, I can't get to him, but if I knew he felt some remorse then that would be a comfort.

"I wrote to him and gave him the opportunity to do that but he did not reply."

He believes, after talking to people who have met Sutcliffe, that the killer is "evil and manipulative" and believes it would be useless meeting him.

"There is nothing to gain other than hitting him," he said.

He condemned the people who agreed with the controversial decision to let Sutcliffe out for the day to see the spot at Arnside on Morecambe Bay in Cumbria where his father's ashes had been scattered.

"I found that quite upsetting," Mr McCann said. "He was shown compassion because his dad had passed away naturally, whereas our mothers were tragically murdered and yet he has never shown any remorse."

Mr McCann still has vivid memories of the day as a five-year-old he went looking for his mum on the morning she never came home.

He recalled: "That was the first time I felt fear and that has stayed with me for 30 years. It never goes away."

The programme shows him meeting former prison visitors who worked with the police in an attempt to discover if Sutcliffe ever expressed regret that his crimes left 23 children motherless.

It follows Mr McCann and his sister Sonia as they try to learn more about their mother's death and trace others whose mums were killed Sutcliffe's reign of terror.

Many were adopted and do not know about their past or feel stigma about coming forward as many of Sutcliffe's victims were prostitutes.

Anyone wanting to get in touch can contact Richard on his website at: www.richardmc cann.co.uk