A victim impact statement written by Hannah’s mother, Hilary Foster, was read to Winchester Crown Court by Hannah’s aunt, Jill Lewis.

She said: “I am Hilary Foster, Hannah’s mother. We were a normal, happy family; my husband Trevor and our two daughters Hannah, aged 17, and Sarah, 14 (in March 2003). Our lives revolved around our two girls, their wellbeing, personal interests and hopes for the future.

“On March 14 2003, our lives changed forever.

“When Trevor and I saw Hannah in the mortuary, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There must be some mistake.

“The cold, bruised and battered body certainly looked like Hannah but where was the sparkle in her eyes, the radiant smile, the warmth and tenderness of her touch?

“Hannah was vibrant, graceful, gentle and so alive. No, this can’t have happened.

“But there was no mistake; this lifeless form was Hannah, our first born daughter: dead aged 17. Her life tragically cut short by the wilful actions of a cruel stranger who took it upon himself to abduct, rape and then murder my beloved Hannah, an innocent girl who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“I felt numb, paralysed by grief and pain. Why Hannah? She had so much to live for; so much unfulfilled promise, so many talents, so much humanity and compassion to share.

“When a mother gives birth she has an immediate, instinctive need to nurture and protect her child. I would give anything to change places with Hannah, to take away the terror and pain she suffered that night.

“For the rest of my life I will feel the guilt that I wasn’t there when she needed me most. She died terrified and alone with an evil stranger. I feel as though Kohli has ripped out my heart and stamped on it.

“Hannah was a gentle, peace-loving girl who was never able to cope with raised voices and certainly not any threat of violence. She would have been frozen with fear, unable to run or fight - the proverbial ’lamb to the slaughter’.

“Hannah was murdered five and a half years ago; the pain never leaves me. I’m haunted by recurring nightmares of the horror that Hannah suffered. Medication for post traumatic stress disorder allows me to sleep for a short time before the relentless images overwhelm me again.

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