A DISTRAUGHT grandfather from Ringwood has described hearing the dread ful news his 16-year-old granddaughter Stacey had been killed in Australia.

Former West Moors school girl Stacey Mitchell moved to Perth with her parents Sophie and Andy, and older brother Scott when she was 10 years old.

Retired jobbing builder Ernie Bale, 61, and his for mer wife Mary, who lives in Bournemouth, have just returned from Perth where they spent Christmas and the New Year comforting their daughter and her family.

Staceys body was found by police a few days after she went missing on December 17.

Her body had been dumped in a wheelie bin at the rear of a house she had been staying at with two young women, who have been charged with her murder.

Mr Bale said: I was in bed the Wednesday night before Christmas when the phone rang and it was my daughter saying Stacey had been mur dered.

She was hysterical, said his second wife Jean.

Mr Bale said: We flew out on the 23rd and arrived there at 1.30 on Christmas Eve morning.

Ernie had been been unable to eat for more than three days because of the worry and then he had to face Sophie, who was desolate.

We hugged and kissed. Ive seen sorrow through my life, as anyone will have, but I wouldnt want to experience that again. It was awful.

It wasnt a very nice Christmas at all, but we did the best with the situation.

As it was, we sat there from 1.30 in the morning just talk ing and crying basically.

Later during the visit he attended a celebration of Staceys life staged in a skate park by her friends.

He also attended her funer al which featured women pall-bearers and drivers in white limousines. Maroon was chosen as a theme colour instead of black, and mourn ers each placed a flower on her coffin.

The last time Mr Bale saw Stacey alive was when the family travelled to the UK last May and June. The holi day will provide him with happy memories of her.

nJessica Stasinowsky, 19, and Valerie Parashumti, 18, have been charged with wil fully murdering Stacey