by Peter Barnett

A memorial service planned for two teenaged murder victims who were discovered in shallow graves in Margate has been shelved indefintely.

Several dates for a service for Dinah McNicol and Vicky Hamilton whose remains were found buried in the garden of a house in Irvine Drive have been discussed between the families and Thanet council.

The original plan was for families of the girls to travel to Thanet for a commemorative church service planned at Holy Trinity in Cliftonville, near the council house which attracted national publicity during the police search in November 2007.

An incomplete circular bench - to illustrate lives cut short - were approved by the families and commissioned for placement in the churchyard.

But failure to arrange mutually convenient dates has left the service on hold permanently.

Ian McNicol, Dinah’s 71 year old father from Essex, said: "There have been so many date changes that we will just forget all the ballyhoo.

"We will visit in the summer udner our own steam - we don’t want help from anyone. We will come to the area and remember our daughters our way.”

Thanet council chief executive, Richard Samuel, said: “Mr McNicol has made it clear to the council that he no longer wants to be involved with the plans we had been developing for a memorial service.

“The council is very saddened by this, as we had hoped that this would, in some small way, offer some form of closure for him on the terrible events that took place here.

"We fully understand and respect his decision and understand that he may be making his own plans to visit the area in the future.

“The council remains in contact with Mr. Hamilton about his plans to come down and visit the memorial.”

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