KAYAKERS who unwittingly punted into University Parks after police closed it to search for a suspected murderer have told how they picnicked in the middle of a manhunt.

The group from Oxford Kayak Tours paddled down the Cherwell on Sunday afternoon and stopped in the park for lunch without realising it was closed.

Police had stopped anyone from entering by the Parks Road entrances as they searched for 21-year-old Jed Allen from Didcot, suspected of stabbing his six-year-old sister, mother and her partner to death at their home in Didcot the day before.

Yesterday, the families of the three murder victims described the tragedy as “unimaginable” as post-mortem examinations revealed Philip Howard, 44, Jan Jordon, 48 and daughter Derin Jordon, six, died of multiple stab wounds.

They were found dead in their Vicarage Road home on Saturday evening.

Company director Paul Preece, pictured, said: “We set off as normal from Cutteslowe car park at about 2pm. We had quite a big group – 10 people.”

Chilling in retrospect, he said that as they got back into their boats, a man on his own appeared on a bridge, and stood watching them as they pushed off.

Mr Preece said when he found out his group had been allowed to enter the park in the middle of the hunt he was shocked and angry.

He said: “Why didn’t they have police on the perimeter of the park?”

Thames Valley Police spokeswoman Connie Primmer said: “The way the search operation worked was that once officers were satisfied an area of the park was clear they would move on.

“That section of the park could well have been open at the time the group were there.”

She added: “I can understand what the kayakers would have thought after, but he was not thought to be any threat to the wider public.”