Hundreds of mourners turn out for funeral of girl found in Margate 'house of horror'
Hundreds of mourners gathered today for the funeral of schoolgirl Vicky Hamilton - more than 16 years after she disappeared.
Tiny Redding Parish Church near Falkirk was packed as mourners paid their respects to the family of the 15-year-old, whose body was found buried in a garden nearly three weeks ago.
Family and friends joined dozens of other local residents, many standing outside, to witness the ceremony.
Scroll down for more...
Peace at last: Vicky Hamilton's body arrives at church in a hearse as death knells sound
Tragic: The schoolgirl's name is spelled out in flowers
Vicky, from Redding, disappeared while waiting for a bus in Bathgate, West Lothian, in February 1991.
It sparked one of Britain's biggest missing person investigations.
Scroll down for more...
Solemn: Vicky's coffin is carried by mourners
Poignant: a red rose is thrown into the open grave
Her remains were eventually unearthed at a house in Margate, Kent, on Monday, November 12, alongside those of 18-year-old student Dinah McNicol.
It was the former home of Scots handyman Peter Tobin, 61, who has since been charged with Vicky's murder.
Scroll down for more...
The end: Vicky disappeared aged 15 with her body only found this month
Flowers: Vicky's coffin is carried into church
The funeral service was led by the minister of Redding and Westquarter Parish Church, the Reverend Geoffrey Smart.
He told mourners: "We come to remember Vicky as she was, a young girl with her whole life ahead of her, who was taken from us by this terrible act of evil.
"All those years when hopes of Vicky's safe return amongst us caused such pain, suffering, worry and anxiety to her family and this community.
Scroll down for more...
Overcome: Vicky's family comfort each other
"Yet we know now that throughout the ordeal of these long years Vicky was not only safely in God's loving care, but also reunited with her granny and also her mum, when she sadly died a couple of years after Vicky.
"The judicial process will go on and help give some peace to all who mourn Vicky's tragic and distressing death."
Laid to rest: Vicky is gently lowered into the earth
