Bulldozers move in to demolish Huntley house

Builders today began demolishing the house in Soham where school caretaker Ian Huntley murdered schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Huntley, 30, is serving life for the murders and his ex-fiancee Maxine Carr, 27, was given a three-and-a-half year prison sentence for conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

The detached house at 5 College Close, Soham, Cambs, has been unoccupied and hidden behind wooden screens since Huntley and Carr were arrested in August 2002 - the day the bodies of the girls were found hidden in a ditch.

Police and officials from Cambridgeshire County Council, which owns the property, were overseeing the demolition. The operation was expected to be completed later today.

Careful plans have been made for the rubble to be crushed and taken to secret locations to prevent the possibility of bricks being sold as macabre souvenirs.

A council spokesman said it was likely the crushed rubble would be recycled.

Sources said drivers working for building firm CJ Murfitt, of Soham, which was carrying out the demolition, had signed confidentiality clauses preventing them from telling anyone where rubble was being taken.

“If everything goes to plan, the roof tiles will be dislodged first, then a chimney stack will be knocked over and a gable end wall will be demolished,” said the spokesman.

“The rubble will be taken away immediately and stored in a secure compound before being crushed and disposed of.”

The future of the site has yet to be decided. The spokesman said officials were consulting Holly and Jessica’s parents to ensure any project accorded with their wishes.

“A decision has not yet been made on what will happen to the site of 5 College Close,” added the spokeswoman. “Following the demolition, the area will initially be laid to turf.”