Forensic search over at girls' burial site

Forensic teams have completed their search of the ditch where the bodies of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were found, police said today.

The youngsters’ remains were discovered in the overgrown 8ft-deep ditch at Lakenheath, Suffolk on August 17.

They were found by a gamekeeper who had been tending pheasants in nearby woodland.

The spot is barely 200 yards from the perimeter of the United States airbase at Lakenheath, where F16 fighter bombers were today being put through their paces as speculation about an American attack on Iraq mounted.

The ditch is lined by black elder trees.

Pheasants, and deer, roam around the area.

On either side of the ditch fields of wheat have been cut back to aid the police’s search of the area.

The only indication of the site is a number of floral tributes left at the end of the track by well-wishers.

The girls’ parents visited the spot a few days after the youngsters’ bodies were discovered and laid flowers.

They are known to be keen that the site does not become a focal point for public grieving.