Vicky's friend thought she heard scream

THE FRIEND of the murdered teenager Vicky Hall said yesterday she thought she heard a scream after she and Vicky parted after walking home from a night club in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

Gemma Algar, 17, said goodbye to Vicky a few hundred yards from their homes in nearby Trimley St Mary. She watched as Vicky walked towards her home in Faulkeners Way.

"Thinking back, whilst walking along the high road, I thought I heard a scream which I remembered on the Sunday. But I cannot be sure. It may be my imagination after everything that has happened," Gemma said at a conference held by Suffolk Police.

Gemma broke down as she said she and her friend were "inseparable". Sixth-former Vicky, who worked part-time in a clothes shop, vanished at about 2.30am on Sunday 19 September after going to the Bandbox club with Gemma.

Vicky's naked body was found in a ditch last Friday in the village of Creeting St Peter near Stowmarket, Suffolk, 25 miles from her home.

Gemma said the girls walked to the club from Trimley, arriving at about 10pm. "At about 11.15pm we went on to the dance floor... Vicky and I were very tired after going out the previous night and working that day. At 1am we decided to leave. I didn't notice anything suspicious in the club. I don't remember speaking to anyone other than staff."

The girls bought chips and soft drinks at Bodrum Grill and then decided to walk home at about 1.30am.

Police are investigating an allegation that a 19-year-old woman was raped in an alley outside the Bandbox a week earlier. Gemma said she and Vicky were aware of this. She added: "As we were together walking away from the seafront area we thought we would be safe."

Police are not certain of the cause of death or whether Vicky was sexually assaulted. Results of further tests are expected by the weekend. Police have arrested a 21-year-old Ipswich man and released him without charge on bail for two months pending further inquiries.