She was bright, 16; rebellion led to her death

She was a vivacious teenager with a bright future, but Lucy Burchell, 16, never lived to hear that she had passed eight GCSEs this week. Instead, her parents spoke yesterday of the shock of her death outside a nightclub and their fears that she was seduced by the world of prostitution.

Graham Burchell, a lorry driver of Great Wyrley, Staff-ordshire, Chris Burchell, and their 20-year-old son, Craig, made a desperate appeal for other young girls who were drawn to vice to learn from the tragedy of Lucy's death. She was found dumped and strangled in Birmingham on Tuesday night.

Mr Burchell said: "I'm not a well-educated man, but what I have to say comes straight from the heart and that's the truth. Everyone here is absolutely devastated by what has happened and we just cannot take it in."

He described how the family had suspected Lucy was mixing with prostitutes in the most notorious red-light district of Walsall, in the West Midlands, a world made famous in the gritty television drama Band of Gold. But they had been unable to control her rebellious spirit.

He added: "I hope something positive comes out of Lucy's death. I would urge any other girls away from home to contact their parents and let them know that they are all right."

Detective Superintendent Dave Unwin, who is leading the hunt for Lucy's killer, said she was spotted getting out of a taxi close to the Dog and Partridge pub in Caldmore, where prostitutes regularly walk, although he did not confirm local reports that some are as young as 10.

Lucy's body was discovered behind the Tower Ballroom nightclub in Edgbaston, and police are investigating a possible sighting of Lucy with a scruffy white man in his thirties nearby on Friday night.

Det Supt Unwin said: "The inference is she did mix with prostitutes ... She was only 16, it was a way of life that fascinated her."