Milly's funeral passes sighting place

The family of murdered schoolgirl Amanda Dowler have led an emotional funeral procession past the spot where she was last seen one year ago.

Her father Bob, 50, mother Sally, 43, and sister Gemma, 17, were joined by a small band of mourners as they filed slowly by the railway station in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.

There were no words, only tears as the 24 relatives, close friends and police officers walked through the mist down Station Avenue on their way to lay her to rest.

At the head of the cortege, shepherded by police motorbikes who stopped all traffic, was a black, glass-sided Volvo hearse carrying her white coffin, followed by four black cars for mourners.

The coffin was emblazoned with an arrangement of white flowers spelling out "Milly", her nickname.

At 9.45am, it stopped briefly at the station - where Milly had shared a bag of chips with a friend on March 21, 2002 - and the mourners were helped out of their cars by top-hatted pallbearers.

IT consultant Mr Dowler, dressed in a black suit, teacher Mrs Dowler and student Gemma, both wearing black skirt suits, then began the slow, 350-yard walk down the road.

Although their eyes were red-rimmed, they kept their composure and stared grimly ahead as they passed a small group of photographers and reporters.

Behind them were family members including a toddler, some of Milly's schoolfriends, and police officers including Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Denholm, who is leading the murder investigation.

Ten minutes later, at the end of Station Avenue, the mourners got back into the cars and headed for the private, invitation-only cremation. Surrey Police said they were not releasing details of where the funeral would be held until later to respect the family's privacy.

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