The spectre of Harold Shipman returned to haunt a small town near Manchester yesterday as the news spread he could have been responsible for at least 297 deaths. Pensioners shopping on a bitterly cold morning at the thrice-weekly open air market in Market Square, Hyde, shook their head in disgust as his name was mentioned.

Ella Butt (72), asked simply: "Why did he do it? He is the world's biggest serial killer isn't he? It is something that keeps cropping up in conversation and every time I go past his surgery I can't help but look at it and think what happened there."

Shipman's former surgery in Market Street, just around the corner from the market, was packed with patients waiting to see their family doctor. They ranged in age from babies and small children to pensioners. It is hoped the practice will eventually move from its present site, where Shipman is believed to have killed at least five patients.

Ian Vellender, a market trader, said the atmosphere among his customers had been very subdued yesterday. "Many people living here have got friends or relations who have been a patient of Shipman's," he said. "He has caused so much hurt and upset in this community. So many lives have been wrecked."

Jane Ashton Hibbert, whose grandmother Hilda Hibbert died in January 1996, said it was like living under a dark cloud. An inquest into her grandmother's death will be held by the South Manchester coroner John Pollard at Tameside magistrates court on Tuesday.

"The last two years have been absolutely horrendous for us. What sickens me is this one individual has caused so much chaos and unhappiness for so many people in such a small place," she said.

"It has been very hard at times. We have had to fight for a public inquiry and we have had to fight for everything. My grandmother was a very independent woman who used to go on CND marches. Murder is murder and I have got to continue fighting for her."

She said if Shipman had admitted his guilt, it would have been a lot better for the families, many of whom still felt very raw with emotion.

Peter Wagstaff, whose mother Kathleen (81), was one of the 15 women whom Shipman was convicted of murdering in December 1997, said he was disturbed by the way the figures were released.

"We knew about the clinical audit, but we didn't realise these numbers would be coming out in the audit," he said. "We thought it would be restricted to looking at Shipman's access to drugs and medical records."

He said many of the families felt they had been excluded from the judicial process, as Shipman had not been charged with the murder of their loved ones or inquests were not being held into their deaths.

Jayne Gaskell, whose mother Bertha Moss is a suspected victim of the serial killer, shook her head in disgust as she watched the lunchtime television news and heard the British Director of Public Prosecutions say Shipman would be unable to receive a fair trial.

An inquest into her mother's death will be held at on February 8 at Tameside magistrates court.

"She was supposed to be one of the people whom Shipman was charged with murdering," said Mrs Gaskell. "We were devastated when we learnt she was not the 16th person on the charge sheet. Our family felt cheated by this decision.

"When she died, we were a bit suspicious at the time, but we thought that was part of the natural grieving process."

Her mother, who was 68, died of an apparent massive heart attack while lying on a treatment bed in Shipman's surgery in June 1995.

"Mum was bubbly, she was a caring mother and she loved dancing. Now it seems she was killed by the world's biggest mass killer. She really liked Shipman because she thought he was so caring."