Tourists flock to Soham despite plea for town to be left in peace

Hundreds of outsiders continued to flood into Soham yesterday despite pleas that the families of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman and the community should be allowed to grieve in peace.

Visitors from across the country, some in coaches, arrived at the small Cambridgeshire town throughout the bank holiday. Local people complained of voyeurism and morbid curiosity as a number of visitors posed for photographs beside the memorial and others headed for the home of Ian Huntley, the caretaker charged with the murders of the 10-year-old girls.

At St Andrew's Parish Church, which has turned into a memorial for Jessica and Holly with flowers, messages and toys brought by the visitors, the Rev Tim Alban Jones stressed the need for privacy in his sermon. He said: "We are grateful for the support of people but the time now has come to draw a line under this phase so Soham can move on. We need to be able to drive through the town as we normally would do."

Mr Alban Jones said there was an uncomfortable side to the flood of visitors to the town, which has a population of 9,000. "Somebody came to ask directions to the house of the caretaker to take a photograph," he said.

"People have been posing for photos by the candles and pictures of the girls in the church and one wonders where these photos will end up – among the family snaps? Today there was a child playing football in the churchyard among the flowers and there was another person listening to his personal stereo among the flowers. That might show that they are here for the wrong reasons."

The bouquets now completely encircle the church. Many are expensive floral arrangements made into the shapes of bears, angels and hearts. Hundreds of soft toys are in the back and front porches of the church and cover the window sills and any available space inside.

Flowers also continue to be left near the isolated spot in Suffolk next to RAF Lakenheath where the murdered girls were discovered by walkers on 17 August.

Mr Alban Jones said people should now look towards the service of celebration and remembrance for the girls at Ely Cathedral on Friday.