Ashleigh's mother in web warning

A homeless man, 32, appeared before Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court charged with kidnap, manslaughter and failing to notify a new address as required under the Sex Offences legislation after the body of Ashleigh Hall, 17, of Darlington, was found in a field in Sedgefield, County Durham.

He was remanded in custody to appear before Teesside Crown Court on November 3 following a five-minute hearing.

Earlier, her mother released a photograph of the teenager, who was studying to become a nursery nurse, and urged other parents to warn their children about the internet.

The girl told her family the night before she was staying with a friend, and her mother, Andrea Hall, repeatedly rang her mobile when she failed to come home.

She said: "To have Ashleigh taken from us in such circumstances is beyond belief and I don't want other families to suffer what we are going through. Tell your kids to be careful on the internet.

"Don't meet someone without telling your family where you are going. Don't trust anybody and don't put your children on Facebook or other sites if they are under age.

"We have learned a terrible lesson. All we ask now is that people help the police in any way they can. We don't want any other child to be a victim."

The mother, of Warwick Square, added: "No one can imagine the hurt and devastation that has hit our family. Ashleigh was loving, honest, caring and well-liked. Everybody loved her. She was a person who brought light into the lives of others.

Many friends paid their own tribute on the Northern Echo's website. Debra Naisbitt, of Darlington, wrote: "Ashleigh was one in a million. A lovely lass who would do anything for anyone."