The heartbroken sister of murdered schoolgirl Vicky Hamilton, whose body was found buried in the back garden of a Margate house, says she takes "great comfort and solace" knowing her killer is now behind bars.

Peter Tobin was last year convicted of Vicky's murder and will serve a minimum of 30 years in jail.

His victim vanished in 1991 after leaving her sister Sharon's flat in Livingstone, West Lothian, to catch the bus home. She was last seen alive in nearby Bathgate.

Sharon has now penned an emotional book in which see recalls the long search for Vicky and her memories of her younger sister.

The 36-year-old told Sky News that writing the book, called Taken, has helped her come to terms with what happened.

She said: "I started the book in January last year and the thought of facing Vicky's killer in court terrified me at first.

"But writing gave me the courage to stand up and fight for justice for my sister.

"I'll never forgive Peter Tobin for what he's done to my family but I don't want to spend the rest of my life hating somebody. I just don't want to give him any of my quality time.

"He's paying the price for what he's done and I get great solace and comfort from knowing he'll never walk the streets of Britain again."

Vicky's remains were discovered at a property in Irvine Drive in November 2007. The grim discovery brought to an end one of the biggest missing person investigations in Scottish history.

Sharon describes her sister as "vibrant" youngster who had a "great sense of humour", adding: "She was clever, intelligent and very good at school where she was really starting to apply herself.

"She was talking about how she wanted to become a vet when she left school and given the chance I'm sure she would have fulfilled her dreams.

"Vicky lives on through this book and I hope it'll give people an insight into the person behind the famous photograph that was on all the missing person posters."

Tobin denied abduction and murder charges during his trial at the High Court in Dundee. The 62-year-old claimed he was in the Portsmouth area and travelling to Scotland when Vicky disappeared.

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