The vicar of Soham said today that "justice had been done" as the jury in the Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman murder trial returned guilty verdicts against Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr.
The Rev Tim Alban Jones of St Andrew's Church said the community would not forget 10-year-old schoolgirls Holly and Jessica but "had no wish to remember" Huntley and Carr.
He said: "The names of Holly and Jessica will long be remembered in our town of Soham, as will the date of August 4th, 2002, but we have no wish to remember those connected with their brutal murders."
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"Justice has been done and been seen to be done and we are glad that the legal process has concluded," he said.
"During the course of the past weeks we have heard in shocking detail the events of last August and as we comes to terms with the knowledge of what happened in College Close, it is our hope that the town will now be left alone and allowed to move forward."
Mr Alban Jones said the residents of Soham were greatly relieved to see the end of the trial.
"Many of us have been following every twist and turn of the proceedings in court very closely and are thankful that they have now come to an end," he said.
"There has, of course, been a large number of witnesses, both those called to give evidence and those who were not called.
"This has added to the general level of anxiety in the town during the course of the trial."
The vicar said that although the community was grateful for all the messages of support from around the country, Soham must be left alone to be allowed to return to normal.
He went on: "It will not be possible, however, to return to any sort of normality as long as the high level of media activity continues and we respectfully request that all the cameras, microphones and notebooks be withdrawn, as soon as the immediate interest has subsided.
"For our town to be able to look to the future we need time and space as we prepare for Christmas and for what lies beyond in the New Year."