Birthday heartache for Milly parents

This new picture was taken on a family holiday

The parents of missing schoolgirl Amanda Dowler have spoken of their continuing heartache as they brace themselves for their daughter's impending birthday.

Amanda, who has not been seen since disappearing on her way home on 21 March, will be 14 on Tuesday.

The moving statement from Bob, 50 and Sally, 42, came after police admitted there was little hope of now finding the schoolgirl - known as Milly - alive.

In happier times, on her fifth birthday

In a written statement, the couple, from Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, said: "Her birthday is going to be so hard for the whole family, for our friends and for her friends.

"No one really knows what to do - for example, they're asking us if they should send cards?

"Any family occasions are really hard. Even other people's birthdays. We go to send them a card, and then it hits us - who do we sign it from? Now we just put 'the Dowlers'.

"The whole concept of wishing someone a happy birthday is very hard to reconcile."

Bob and Sally, who also released new pictures of their daughter, spoke about what life had been like for them and their other daughter Gemma, 16, since Amanda went missing.

"The Jubilee weekend was hellishly long," they said.

There's normally two cards (on fathers' day). It was a bad day

Milly's father Bob

"Weekends are very difficult anyway. It was hard to see millions of people enjoying themselves. It would have been lovely to be one of them.

"Ordinarily we would have done something as a family - like for the millennium, when we all went up to London for the fireworks.

"At one point we had been talking with our neighbours about holding a street party."

'Pain'

IT consultant Bob added: "Last weekend was really hard, being fathers' day.

"There aren't any words to describe it. I hadn't even thought about it being fathers' day, and then Gemma came downstairs and gave me a card.

"It took me completely unawares. I just went through all the thoughts and emotions you can imagine.

"There's normally two cards. It was a bad day."

Finally, they made another appeal for information regarding their daughter's disappearance.

"All we ask is that if anyone knows anything about what has happened to Milly please, please tell the police.

"It's impossible to describe the pain we are going through: we need to know where our daughter is and what has happened to her."

Superintendent Alan Sharp of Surrey Police said: "Our thoughts are with Amanda's family, particularly at this very difficult time. We offer them every sympathy and continue to put all our efforts into finding Amanda."

A police spokeswoman said on Saturday Milly's parents had been "told to expect the worst".

The investigation into the teenager's disappearance was discussed at a top level meeting of detectives at the National Crime Operations Faculty in Hampshire earlier in the week. and we have become more concerned."

A 52-year-old man from Ashford in Middlesex was arrested in connection with Milly's disappearance earlier this month.

He was released on bail.