Ian McNicol, right, with son-in-law Martin, and daughter Laura, pictured by Dinah McNicol's memorial in Margate

Story and picture by Carol Davies

cdavies@thekmgroup.co.uk

On a freezing day in November 2007, Ian McNicol faced every parent's nightmare as he was shown where serial killer Peter Tobin had buried his missing 18-year-old daughter.

Cutting a frail but dignified figure in the glare of the media spotlight, he watched as police pointed out the muddy graves in a Margate back garden where the remains of his daughter Dinah and Vicky Hamilton, 15, were found.

Now he has returned to Margate for the first time since that grimmest of days to see the memorial to the two murdered girls in the grounds of Holy Trinity Church.

A simple plaque in loving memory of Dinah and Vicky sits between two curved stone-topped benches in a grassy circle looking out on to open fields.

Backed by conifers, the seats provide a peaceful spot in the autumn sunshine, despite only being a short walk from where the horrific discoveries in Irvine Drive were made.

Watched by his daughter Laura and son-in-law Martin, 71-year-old Ian – known to friends and family as Nik – gently placed two red roses by the memorial.

"i've been through such a lot, and now feel that this is a fitting conclusion, and that i'll be able to sleep at night" – ian mcnicol

Dinah disappeared on her way home from a music festival in August 1991. Schoolgirl Vicky had vanished six months earlier from a bus stop near her home in Scotland.

Despite his well-publicised rows with Thanet District Council over whether the house where Peter Tobin lived should be pulled down, Nik said he was happy with the council's tribute.

"It's very nice indeed - I'm glad I came to see it," he said.

"I've been through such a lot, and now feel that this is a fitting conclusion, and that I'll be able to sleep at night."

After taking a photograph he said: "I'll show this to Vicky's dad Michael.

He's not seen it yet, but hopes to travel to Margate from his home in Scotland sometime soon."

The two men, linked by the most tragic of circumstances, have become firm friends, and although living hundreds of miles apart – Michael in Falkirk, Scotland, and Nik in Tillingham, Essex – they are in regular touch by phone and the internet.

"He's helped me a lot through some very bad times," said Nik.

"I went to stay with him and his family last year and we had a wonderful time.

He's the sort of guy I would be good friends with even if we didn't have this awful thing in common.

"The stress caused by Vicky's disappearance, and then the discovery of her body, has had a severe effect on his health. We have both suffered. People tell me they sympathise, and they know how I must feel, but they cannot begin to comprehend the pain.

"I'm lucky though because I have a good family and friends to support me."

Tobin, 64, is serving life for murdering Dinah, Vicky and Polish student Angelika Kluk, whose body he hid in a Glasgow church in 2006.

As Nik and his family prepared for the long drive home, he vowed to visit again.

"I've waited a long time to see this memorial to our girls, and I'm very happy now I've seen it," he said.