'Give them back. Just give them back. Put an end to all of this for them,' parents plead

The strain, anxieties and fears from days of waiting were clearly visible yesterday as the parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman made their latest appeal for the return of their daughters.

In their first public appeal together for nine days, they described how the days had run together because of the continual worry since their daughters disappeared on 4 August. Their weary, lined looks belied their stoicism before the cameras but other family members have said the Wellses were "coping badly" during the empty hours at home.

"Time doesn't mean anything," said Sharon Chapman, 43. "Hours and days just seem to roll into one. Before you know it, it's dark again. The noise level in my house is so quiet, so quiet. Even though there are lots of people coming in and out, it's just so quiet and empty."

The parents told how they had insisted on being kept up to date with every development of the inquiry. After the shock of the disappearance of the 10-year-old girls and the failure to find them in the first days, their hopes had been raised with reports of new sightings.

But then they had to suffer the agony of the discovery of newly turned earth, which they feared could be the girls' graves but turned out to be badger setts. They also had to endure a tense wait as a deadline set by police for the abductor to call passed without any contact being made.

But even as two people were answering police questions last night, the waiting continued for the families. Speaking in front of the cameras again yesterday as the search neared the end of its third week, the families tried to explain what their ordeal had been like.

Kevin Wells, 38, clenched the hand of his wife, Nicola, 35, who was looking heavy-lidded after nights without sleep. On her left sat Mrs Chapman and her husband, Leslie, 51.

They appealed again to their children's abductor to return them and said they clung to the hope that they were still alive. Mr Wells said: "It's certainly surreal. The days have just blended. It seems extraordinary that we are approaching another Sunday already.

"We are keeping piles of newspapers ready for when there's a positive ending, but they grow by the day."

Police liaison officers are keeping them up to date with the investigation, and they have been taken behind the scenes of the inquiry to "allay any fears" they may have had.

They were strongly supportive of the officers despite criticisms of delays between police receiving evidence and asking for help from the public. The sighting by a taxi driver of a car driver with two struggling girls was, again, a line of inquiry that petered out.

Mr Wells said: "We are being kept informed, as was our request, of any developments. Members of our family have asked us why perhaps we were told about the graves being dug in Newmarket but very clearly that was our request. You can't change the ballpark as things develop. We asked for every single development to be relayed to us."

Describing the past 12 days, Mr Wells said: "It's been extremely difficult. That may well be an understatement."

The worst night was the wait as police excavated the two mounds of earth near Newmarket, only 10 miles away from where the girls had gone missing. Not until early on Wednesday were the parents told there was no trace of the girls. "We were offered a glimmer of hope in the early hours and it's to that glimmer that we have returned," he said. "We are absolutely convinced that police are doing all they can."

The parents also spoke of their feelings as midnight passed without anyone responding to the televised plea by Detective Superintendent David Beck to "call me" on a special hotline.

Mr Chapman said it was "a relief more than anything else" when the call did not come. "The families were grateful that it wasn't bad news. We hope beyond hope that everything will turn out fine."

He said: "Someone's got them. They are not their children. They are our children. We want them back. We miss them so much."

The families have tried to follow the police's lead, remaining positive about the girls' future. But, after a long silence, an outburst by Mrs Chapman revealed her worst fears. "Give them back. Just give them back. Put an end to all of this for them," she said as she tried to control her tears.