The killer who shot dead a planning officer in a row over a bungalow referred to himself as 'rocket man' and told a friend he wanted fish and chips when he came out of prison, newly-revealed letters show.
Albert Dryden, who was jailed for life after killing Derwentside Council official Harry Collinson in June 1991, died this week at the age of 77, less than a year after he was freed from prison.
In letters to his friend John Snowdon - who called Dryden a 'good lad' - the eccentric killer revealed he was making plans for his release.
TV cameras captured the moment Dryden murdered Mr Collinson, a father of two, as council officers came to demolish a bungalow he had built illegally in Butsfield, County Durham.
Killer Albert Dryden, pictured as he shot dead planning officer Harry Collinson in a row over planning permission for a bungalow in 1991, died in a nursing home this week at the age of 77
In the bizarre letters from prison, which have been revealed for the first time, he wrote to friend John Snowdon in 2016 to tell him he would soon be out.
In a letter sent from HMP Haverigg, Cumbria, in June 2016, Dryden said : 'Rocket man hear. I will be home in August, look out for the 28 feet limo, heading for Tow Law Chippy. Cod and Chips.'
Two months later he wrote to Mr Snowdon again expressing his disappointment that he had not heard anything about parole.
He said: 'Still no date for my ninth parole review. It's running ten and half months late now.'
Dryden signed each letter 'Man of Steel', with the subtitle 'Consett Steel, 1840 to 1980', a reference to the industrial heritage of the County Durham town where he was born.
Mr Snowdon, 81, said: 'Albert was a good lad. When I heard he had killed somebody it such a shock, it was terrible.
In one of the letters from Albert Dryden to his friend John Snowdon he said he wanted 'cod and chips' when he got out of prison as he applied for parole from his life sentence for murder
In a second letter from the Cumbria prison two months later - once again signed Man of Steel - Dryden tells Mr Snowdon that he still did not have a date for his parole review
'I still don't really know what happened. It's just really tragic that he spent the rest of his life in jail.
'I have known Albert all his life. I was friends with him and I used to weightlift with him. He was always a man who kept himself to himself.
'I saw him about a month ago. He was in a cot-like bed. He couldn't talk. The man was dying, he had no life. He could nod his head and shake his head. He was frustrated, and very remorseful.
'Despite what people have said he was remorseful. It is just tragic all round. He never got a chance to say he was sorry, but you could see the remorse in his eyes.'
Mr Snowdon had known Dryden since they worked in steel together in the 1960s and helped him dig a trench to build his illegal bungalow.
Mr Collinson, who was chief planning officer of the now-defunct Derwentside Council, was shot dead in front of press and television reporters moments after asking camera crews to get a picture of the gun.
Albert Dryden, pictured left leaving Consett Magistrates Court in County Durham the day after shooting the planning officer dead, wrote letters to his friend John Snowdon, pictured right
The local authority had moved in to demolish the bungalow Dryden had built without planning consent on his land in Butsfield.
He had claimed the new home was for his poorly mother and argued he did not need consent as only the roof was visible.
When the council arrived Dryden, who had amassed a collection of guns in his bungalow, shot Mr Collinson, 46, and wounded police officer Stephen Campbell in the buttock and BBC Look North reporter Tony Belmont in the arm.
The shocking footage was later shown on the BBC's Look North programme.
At Dryden's trial in Newcastle in 1992 he claimed he was mentally unwell and not responsible for his actions, but the jury found him guilty of murder.
He was released on compassionate grounds last year after suffering a stroke and died in a County Durham nursing home on Saturday at the age of 77.
Mr Collinson's older brother, Roy, told the Northern Echo Dryden was a 'bloody murderer', adding: 'Good riddance.'
Dryden, left, with planning officer Harry Collinson, crouching, moments before the shooting
Linkhienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/19/albert-drydens-prison-letters-reveal-planning-row-killer-looked-forward-to-fish-and-chips/
Main photo article The killer who shot dead a planning officer in a row over a bungalow referred to himself as ‘rocket man’ and told a friend he wanted fish and chips when he came out of prison, newly-revealed letters show.
Albert Dryden, who was jailed for life after killing Derwentside Council o...
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Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1/2018/09/19/08/4384638-6183853-image-m-12_1537342764919.jpg
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