The dark side of PARADISE

Just how safe are our children when they decide to go travelling? Woman investigates

As we edge towards summer, teenagers all over the country will be thinking about how they are going to celebrate the end of their A-level exams, which start in a matter of weeks, and many will be looking forward to graduating from university. And there’s no better way to enjoy a bit of freedom than a backpacking adventure. Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, did just that in 2014 when they travelled to Thailand. But what was intended to be a trip of a lifetime ended in horror when they were both found brutally murdered on a beach. Two men were jailed for killing the young tourists, but now, a decade on, fresh agony has been inflicted on their families as the killers ask for a review of the case and a retrial as they plead their innocence.

For Hannah and David’s parents, the brutality that their children suffered is every parent’s worst nightmare. And it raises the question of the safety of our children when they travel abroad.