Memorial service for murdered Vicky

Vicky's parents Graham and Lorinda paid tribute

Four hundred people have attended a public memorial service for the murdered Suffolk teenager, Vicky Hall.

The 17-year-old vanished in the early hours of 19 September as she walked from a nightclub in Felixstowe to her home in nearby Trimley St Mary.

Her body was found five days later. Police have not yet charged anyone over her death.

The service was held at St Martin's Church, Trimley, led by local vicar the Rev Rod Corke.

Best friend Gemma spoke at the service

Vicky's mother Lorinda said: "Victoria was as perfect as everybody says. We will miss her terribly.

"Our lives will never be the same and her death left a hole in our lives which will never be filled. But we are thankful for the wonderful 18 years which she gave to us."

Best friend Gemma Algar, who had walked home from the club with Vicky until they parted a few hundred yards from their respective homes, also spoke to the mourners.

"We were always laughing and joking together and having a good time and I really miss that," she said.

"Vicky was the person I confided in and she helped me through the problems that I had. Now I have to learn to cope with things for myself."

The church was not big enough to hold all the mourners

Friends Kate Ayriss, Amy Danells, Tamsin Parkes and Helen Rogowski, all 17, wept as they gave touching glimpses of her teenage life

Rev Corke told mourners: "We give thanks to God for her life, her energy, her golden smile", adding that her parents had called her their "dancing angel".

"Part of the shock of Victoria's death is that, at the present time, so many questions are left unanswered. What really happened? Who did this dreadful deed? When will justice be done?" he said.

The service was relayed outside St Martin's and on to video screens set up in a neighbouring church, as it was not big enough to contain everyone who wanted to pay their respects.

Mourners could watch the ceremony from video screens

It concluded with Vicky's parents, Graham and Lorinda, both in their 40s, and brother Steven, 15, lighting a candle in her memory.

Two post-mortem examinations have failed to establish exactly how Vicky died, although a pathologist said a degree of asphyxia was involved.

And despite intensive investigations by Suffolk police, Vicky's clothes have still not been found.

A private family funeral service was held on Wednesday.