Children and parents struggling to cope with the emotional anguish caused by the deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman were today receiving counselling. Children as young as 10 - the same age as the schoolgirls - called a special helpline to talk about their shock, pain and fears for the future.
Many parents have called to ask how they can talk to their children about the deaths, while youngsters have told counsellors the killings have left them feeling terrified and confused about who they can trust.
The helplines are primarily aimed at people in Holly and Jessica's home town of Soham, Cambridgeshire, but have also been receiving calls from around the world, including one from Australia.
They were opened at 8 a.m. today and had taken around 70 calls by 3 p.m. They are staffed by Cambridgeshire County Council social workers, many with counselling qualifications, who work in three-hour shifts because of the emotional strain involved in taking the calls.
Team leader Jenny Pardoe said: "Children are saying they feel very frightened and don't know who they can trust, and a lot of parents are asking how they can talk to their children about what has happened.
"Some are finding it very hard to talk and just hang up immediately, and some find it helpful to talk to a stranger rather than someone they know.
"Others are saying it has triggered a memory of something similar which has happened to them, bringing back a lot of emotions."
She said the calls ranged from people wanting brief information and advice to others who wanted to talk for more than an hour about their fears and concerns. Callers needing more help were being referred on to educational psychologists, she said.
Many of the calls have been from parents, pupils and even staff at Holly and Jessica's school and the neighbouring college, both of which are now being thoroughly searched by police forensic teams as part of the investigation into the killings.
The confidential helplines are staffed between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily and Ms Pardoe said they would run for as long as they were needed.
The numbers are widely advertised locally but not nationally to give priority to the people of Soham and the surrounding area.
PA