FOLLOWING the death of child killer Russell Bishop last week, ex-police chief Graham Bartlett recalls how the Babes In The Wood case "hung like a dark cloud" over Brighton.
The former chief superintendent was a detective constable when Bishop was arrested for a second time, for the abduction of another little girl, and has since published a book on the cases from the perspective of the police.
Mr Bartlett, who now lives in Hassocks, said: "The first thing to say is that the tragedy and the pain that Bishop put the Fellows and the Hadaway families through is unimaginable.
"He should never be forgiven for that, not only did he kill and abuse the little girls but he always dodged justice through his own lies and through his manipulation for over 30 years.
"That hung over the police and the city like a cloud from the moment that he was first acquitted."
Playmates Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows, both nine, were found dead in Wild Park, Moulsecoomb, in 1986.
Bishop, who lived nearby, was arrested but found not guilty at a trial at Lewes Crown Court the following year.
This has been put down to various failings by the prosecution, the police and forensics.
Mr Bartlett said: "It was such an awful moment for the whole of Sussex Police because we knew that we had the right person, we knew that he was the killer.
"For various reasons, justice was denied."
In 1990, he was part of the team that arrested Bishop again for a second attack on a child.
He said: "I remember, as a very young detective constable, when he snatched and nearly killed the little girl from Whitehawk and took her up to Devil's Dyke, it felt like it was all happening again.
"It wasn't immediately apparent that it was Bishop but very soon it became very clear that it was.
"The officers, with real moral courage - because there was big scrutiny around Sussex police at the time - arrested him and were able to secure forensic evidence."
Since his arrest on February 4, 1990, Bishop never left prison, and remained there until his death last week.
Mr Bartlett said: "He's never been free or walked the streets, so there's some comfort in that but when he was eventually convicted of that crime there was no celebration.
"There was no patting on the back, whilst we knew that the team had done a good job, there were still two families out there that were grieving and didn't have the justice that the girl had."
Despite Bishop being convicted of the second attack, he could not be prosecuted again for the Babes In The Wood killings.
Mr Bartlett said: "At the time, the law was such that there was no opportunity to go back for him.
"He could have stood on the steps of Brighton police station and said that he killed them but he couldn't be re-prosecuted.
"Thankfully, through some sterling work from the Fellows and the Hadaway families the law was changed.
"Then it was a matter for waiting for the science to catch up, you only get one opportunity on a double jeopardy prosecution so Sussex police needed to make sure the case was unassailable and needed the science to do that."
Thirty two years after the deaths of Karen and Nicola, thanks to advances in DNA technology, Bishop was finally brought to justice and found guilty at the Old Bailey.
Mr Bartlett said that again, there were "no huge celebrations" following the conviction because "justice delayed is justice denied".
The Babes In The Wood case was chosen as the focus of his book, written with bestselling Brighton crime author Peter James, because of his personal affiliation with it.
He said: "It was one of a kind, this case, and it was so important to air, warts and all, what had gone on in the investigation.
"I just felt that the journey the investigation took illustrated the changes in police procedure, in science, in law, in public attitudes - I just thought it was a really interesting story to tell.
"I've served every rank in Brighton from constable through to chief superintendent and at every rank and every position there was this cloud that hung over us because of the two little girls that we couldn't get justice for.
"The justice came long after I had retired but it was still satisfying to see him locked up for all those years.
"My thoughts and feelings are now with the families, that's who I'm thinking about today."
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