Sarah Payne's home lies less than a mile away from that of Michelle Johnson, the mother of nine-year-old Brighton murder victim Karen Hadaway.

Michelle's daughter, Kimberley, 13, is a classmate of Sarah's brother Lee at a secondary school in Surrey.

Michelle has maintained her silence throughout the 17-day search as she prayed for Sarah's safe return.

Today, following news of the discovery of a girl's body, she broke it - and wept.

Karen and her nine-year-old playmate Nicola Fellows were sexually assaulted and strangled in Wild Park, Brighton, in 1986.

Roofer Russell Bishop, currently serving life for the sexual assault and attempted murder of a seven-year-old Brighton girl, was tried and acquitted of what became known as the Babes in the Woods murders.

Mrs Johnson, 43, said the similarities of Sarah's disappearance and the close proximity of their respective homes were "unnerving and terrifying".

She said: "It has affected me deeply and for the first week I just couldn't sleep, thinking about Sarah and remembering Karen - she was just a year older than Sarah.

"I know exactly what those poor parents are going through, but I just could not bring myself to contact them, to offer them help if they needed it. It is just not right when there is still hope.

"I want to send them my prayers and my love, and if they need someone to talk to then I am here for them, night or day.

"Talking can help, I know. It relieves the pressure - and I will always be here for them if they need me. It is just so sad."

She told how she heard the news of the disappearance soon after the death of her mother in Brighton.

"It was a double blow for me," she said.

"Kimberley told me of Sarah's disappearance. She knows Sarah's brother Lee and she has been devastated. So have I.

"I felt this terrible pain in my chest. It was an aching pain and I'm sure it was because I was feeling so much for the family.

"Every day Kimberley would ask 'Has Sarah been found?' Every day we have read the newspapers and watched the TV news.

"The Paynes are such nice people and Kimberley said Lee is a really nice boy. I have to admire the way the family has stood up to this and for so long.

"My wait lasted 23 hours before Karen and Nicola's bodies were found, and I know how agonising it is.

"I too never gave up hope - you can't.

"That was more than 13 years ago - Karen would be 24 this Christmas - and I still haven't got over it. I never will."

Mrs Johnson's husband, Lee, suffered from the tragedy of his daughter's murder until his death from a heart attack in 1998.

His family is convinced he died prematurely because of the trauma of losing Karen.

Mrs Johnson said at the time: "I remember the day we identified Karen's body. Lee walked out of that room and was never the same man again. It destroyed us all."

Mrs Johnson is praying police catch whoever was responsible for the girl's death. She wants to see the culprit given a life sentence that really does mean life.

She said: "This must be the softest country in the world and it is time we woke up. Society needs protection. It's no good sentencing them to life and then letting them out after ten or 20 years. They'll just do it again.

"Life should mean life, to act as a deterrent. It is time we weeded these sick people out of society."