A KENT woman has spoken about her one-time association with solider David Atkinson who murdered a young student and then killed himself in a fireball horror.

Lance Cpl Atkinson, who was responsible for the death of Sally Geeson in Cambridgeshire on New Year's Day, was stationed in the Medway Towns for four years, it has emerged.

Now Rebecca Chorley, 24, of Castle Road, Chatham, has told of her horror after realising that she once dated the killer.

Rebecca, who works in Gillingham, met the Royal Engineer at the Zone nightclub in Medway while he was serving at Gillingham's Brompton Barracks. The pair struck up a romance and went out for about a month.

On several dates he took her for meals and he often picked her up from her home in his car.

Rebecca told a national newspaper that when the pair split up, Atkinson waited outside a nightclub for her and as she got in the car he tried to kiss her and pounced on top of her and locked the doors. She told him to stop and eventually he gave up and she was able to get away.

Her neighbour, mother of six, Karen Nicholls said: "I've known Rebecca for a few years now and I know he took her out a few times for meals. I never met him but he came and collected her in his car, but the whole thing is really creepy isn't it."

Cambridgeshire Police travelled to Chatham to interview Rebecca on Wednesday and collected her from her workplace later that evening.

Det Con Paul Brown of Cambridgeshire Police said: "We are currently talking to her to gain background information. She is very upset at the moment."

Kent Police are planning to investigate unsolved assault cases to see if Atkinson was responsible for them during his time at Brompton Barracks.

Lance Cpl Atkinson, who left a note indicating he was responsible for the death of Sally Geeson, had previously been court-martialled in Germany for holding a girl in a hotel after she got into his car.

A police spokesman said: "Kent Police has a case review department that will examine any new evidence or intelligence to determine if it might relate to outstanding cases."

An Army spokesman said: "We have co-operated fully with Cambridgeshire Police into the murder of Sally Geeson and we will continue to co-operate with the police both in the UK and Germany.

"If Kent Police is going to re-open any investigations into cases in relation to the late Lance Cpl David Atkinson then we will be willing to provide any relavant information."