FRIENDS and neighbours of regular church-goer Heather Davidson spoke of their disbelief last night after she admitted murdering her terminally ill friend.

They said Davidson, who lived in a rented terraced Edwardian property in Sowerby Road, Sowerby, often displayed a gentle, caring and compassionate nature, but had struggled with alcohol after separating from her husband.

An elderly neighbour said she had been left reeling when friends told her of Davidson's arrest and that she had spoken about spending time with him, at his home nearby and later at Sowerby House care home.

She said: "I can't believe she would hurt anyone on purpose, she had no malice in her whatsoever.

"She loved her garden and nurtured the plants and would spent hours working in it with David Paterson.

"They met through a church group and he helped her with her vegetables. She would visit to help him - they appeared to enjoy each other's company."

Friends described the 53-year-old, who it is understood to have moved to North Yorkshire from south-west London, as "a very well educated and attractive lady".

They said she did not speak about her past, but had a grown-up daughter who visited her several times a year.

Another neighbour said Davidson often attended St Mary's Church, in Thirsk, where she volunteered.

He said: "I never knew her to have a job, she would take her dog for long walks around the Thirsk area and would bake cakes for other people.

"Then, at other times, she had bouts of drinking and then would go away for treatment for periods.

"One night when she came back from treatment I looked out of my window and she looked really bad and was walking with a stick, holding on to the window sills of the houses as she went."

Other villagers said police had been called to help Davidson on several occasions, including when she collapsed intoxicated in the village last summer, partially dressed.

They said while they never saw her drinking in public, officers were called to her home last year after her dog had been barking for several days.

After the incident, they said, Davidson's landlord returned the dog to the rescue centre as she was incapable of caring for it.

A neighbour said: "She said her husband had left her and she didn't look happy when she told me. I think it was a blow to her when she lost her dog as she doted on it."