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'I want to marry you': Schoolgirl's gushing letter to the 46-year-old grandfather she has run away with
Last updated at 16:22pm on 16.05.08The family of a 16-year-old schoolgirl who has run away with a grandfather 30 years her senior fear she is planning to marry him.
Lisa Wright left home nearly three weeks ago and has gone into hiding with Nigel Trowbridge.
The schoolgirl has already contacted her mother, Angela, and admitted the unemployed 46-year-old was her lover.
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Love letters fear: Lisa Wright says she wants to marry Nigel Trwobridge, 46, in notes found
But Mrs Wright has now discovered a photograph of Mr Trowbridge in her daughter's handbag, along with a love letter the teenager had written to him.
The note said: "I'm willing to become 'Mrs Lisa Veronica Trowbridge' for you."
Mr Trowbridge, a father of five and grandfather of two who is known as Glyn, is due to finalise his divorce with his estranged wife Sharon next month.
Mrs Wright, 45, a dental nurse, managed to contact her daughter on her mobile phone on Wednesday night.
She said Lisa criticised her for speaking publicly about her concerns and told her to "stop playing games".
"I tried to tell her that we weren't playing games, that I needed to know where she is and that she is safe but she hung up on me," she said.
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Outpouring of emotion: Excerpts from her letter to Mr Trowbridge
"It wasn't a very long conversation. It was clear she has no intention of coming home."
In the love note, which is written in pen across three sides of lined A4 paper, Lisa described how she had visited Mr Trowbridge's flat on one occasion only to find he was not in.
"When I realised that I couldn't see you, I could have sworn I felt my heart break just a little inside my chest," she said.
"Every second that passes is a second that should have been spent with you."
She added: 'I love you with all I'm worth, my heart, my soul, my body and my mind.
"I'm scared and I'm alone. I want to scream at the top of my voice 'I love you Glyn and I always will'. I want to but I can't, I'm scared because I'm losing the will to fight!
"I'm sorry you have lost so much and it's all my fault."
Mr Trowbridge's 20-year-old son, also called Glyn, has a newborn daughter with Lisa's 19-year-old sister Jemma. However the couple have since split up.
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It was while Mr Trowbridge was visiting his grandchild that he started the relationship with Lisa.
She left her home in Dagenham, East London, on April 28 but failed to turn up for lessons. School staff raised the alarm and Mrs Wright, checking her daughter's bedroom, found gifts from Mr Trowbridge.
Among them was a Leona Lewis album with underlined romantic lyrics. Messages written beside them included: "This is what you mean to me."
Police raided Mr Trowbridge's flat, also in Dagenham, and found some of Lisa's clothes and a bottle of her perfume.
Mrs Wright yesterday revealed her daughter had briefly returned home at 11pm on Saturday. They spoke and she thought she might stay. But she woke in the morning to find Lisa had gone again after taking two tops and a pair of boots.
She was due to sit her GCSEs this week and had been predicted to get top grades. She had planned to study psychology at university.
Mr Trowbridge's son Glyn yesterday said he and Jemma had split up because of the tension between the two families.
Worried: Lisa's mother Angela Wright
He added: "I haven't spoken to my old man but if he doesn't want to be seen he won't be seen. He's got lots of friends who will look after him.
"He's not a nonce but he is a bit of a drunk. It's probably good having someone influencing him not to get drunk, which he does all the time."
Jemma Wright said she feared Mr Trowbridge could marry her younger sister.
"Come June, as soon as the divorce goes through, he's free to get married again. Nothing would surprise me," she said.
The Metropolitan Police said Lisa was above the age of consent for sex but was too young to leave home without the permission of her parents.
A spokesman confirmed officers were looking for the couple but added: "It has gone down as a missing person case although it's not straightforward.
"In England and Wales you shouldn't leave home at 16 without the consent of your parents but the fact is she rings her family and has popped home."
Reader views (1)
Its either legal or it ain't. Simple.
If its legal then the choice is the girl's, and no other. If not? Drag her home/wherever it is that such girls get dragged kicking and screaming.
The age difference would probably kick any relationship into touch before long anyway.
- Rogan, DFW Texas
