Schoolgirl 'had crush on Huntley'

Soham Village College, where Ian Huntley worked

A schoolgirl had a crush on Ian Huntley weeks before he is alleged to have murdered Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, the Old Bailey has heard.

Soham Village College vice-principal Margaret Bryden said she "dealt with" the girl after Mr Huntley reported her.

And he had answered in an "exemplary fashion" when asked how he would react to such a situation in his interview for the job of caretaker, she said.

Mr Huntley denies murdering the two Cambridgeshire 10-year-olds in 2002.

Predecessor sacked

The court heard that Mr Huntley's predecessor had been sacked the year before following an "inappropriate relationship" with a 13-year-old girl so all the job applicants were asked "tricky questions"

Mr Huntley had said that should such a situation arise, he would report it to a senior member of staff, and Mrs Bryden confirmed this was what he had done.

She also told the court Mr Huntley had "confided" in her about his father.

"He made some pretty shocking allegations about what had happened to him in his early life.

"There were times I thought he was exaggerating things but I did not think he was making them up," she said.