Holly Wells' father tells of family's 'dark, dark days'

The father of the murdered schoolgirl Holly Wells spoke for the first time yesterday of the "dark, dark days" endured by his family.

Kevin Wells, 38, said he and his wife Nicola, 35, had experienced "every set of emotions imaginable" in the five weeks since his daughter and her best friend Jessica Chapman disappeared.

"This crime had been committed against my daughter and her friend and the initial disbelief of it all turned to a great deal of anger," he said.

"This was coupled with feelings of frustration and helplessness for Holly and really just finding it just so hard to comprehend. They were dark, dark days."

Holly and Jessica, both 10, vanished near their homes in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on 4 August. Their bodies were found in woodland at Lakenheath, Suffolk, 13 days later. Mr Wells, who runs a cleaning business and has a 12-year-old son, Oliver, told his local newspaper, the Cambridge Evening News, that he and his wife Nicola were trying to be as positive as they could to help their son. "Myself and Nicola are returning to work but not yet in a full-time capacity," he said. "We are just trying to keep those small steps towards a sense of normality."

"Having said that, over the last few days myself and Nicola have been very low and tearful again. We've just been feeling so desperate at our loss of Holly.

"It's the small things which are the catalyst for our emotions. Little things which you notice or miss about Holly just trigger you off."

Mr Wells said being told that the girls' bodies had been found came as an "absolute hammer blow". "Having everyone [from his family] round here and telling them Holly was definitely dead was tremendously harrowing and obviously something you never think, as a father, you will have to face."

Mr Wells said he could understand why the girls' disappearance attracted such a huge amount of interest but he found being in the media spotlight "surreal".

Ian Huntley, 28, a former school caretaker has been charged with the girls' murders and is being held at Rampton High Security Hospital in Nottinghamshire, under the Mental Health Act.

His partner, Maxine Carr, 25, a former teaching assistant at the girls' primary has been accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice. She is being held on remand in Holloway Prison, North London, pending trial.

Police are asking more than 400 journalists who covered the girls' murders if they will hand over notebooks and film footage in the hope they will provide new evidence.

Every reporter is to be sent a questionnaire about what information they have and if they are willing to hand it over. The letter warns that court orders may be used to force them to hand over material if necessary.

Mr Huntley and Ms Carr spoke frequently to reporters before they were arrested.