UK sport falls silent for dead girls

Jessica and Holly will be honoured by their Manchester United heroes

LONDON, England -- Britain's sporting heroes are to mark the deaths of murdered schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman with a minute's silence before all of this weekend's games.

Teams from the country's major football and rugby leagues will perform the silent tribute in memory of the 10-year-olds whose bodies were found last Saturday at the end of a two-week hunt.

The first silence was due to be held on Friday night at the end of a day of developments in a story that has shocked the country and brought messages of sympathy from all over the world. (Story)

Earlier, the inquest into the deaths was told how the girls' bodies were found in a "severely decomposed and partially skeletonised" state. (Story)

EXTRA INFORMATION Q&A: What happens now?

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Hebb also said it was not thought that the girls had died where they were found.

Hebb told Cambridgeshire Coroner David Morris that police believe the deaths of the two girls happened in Cambridgeshire rather than Suffolk from where they disappeared on August 4

Morris asked Hebb: "You are as certain as you can be that the deaths of these two did not take place at the place where they were found?"

Hebb replied: "That's correct sir."

The Prince of Wales has written to the dead girls' parents

Meanwhile, plans were revealed for a memorial service to be held at Ely Cathedral next week.

It also emerged of how the girls' distraught parents -- Kevin and Nicola Wells and Sharon and Leslie Chapman -- have received hand-written letters from Prince Charles expressing his heartfelt sympathy.

In a further development, Cambridgeshire County Council announced that Ian Huntley, the man charged with the girls' murders, has been sacked from his job as a caretaker at a college in the small town of Soham where the girls lived.

The silences at sports matches will begin on Friday night with Manchester United's game against Chelsea.

The two girls were last seen wearing Manchester United tops with their idol David Beckham's name and number on them.

Further silences will be held at all FA Premiership, Nationwide League, Conference and supporting league events during the weekend.

FA director of marketing and communications Paul Barber said: "The girls' love of football is well known and everyone connected with the game is keen to pay their respects to Holly and Jessica and offer their condolences to the girls' families and friends at the same time."

The Scottish Premier League has also written to all top-flight clubs asking them to observe a minute's silence.

The bodies were found at the end of this path two weeks after they disappeared

A Rugby League spokesman said: "The Rugby Football League ... advised all their clubs to observe a minute's silence for murder victims Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman at both Tetley's Super League and Northern Ford Premiership fixtures through the weekend."

The memorial service -- to be called a service of celebration and remembrance for the girls -- will be held at Ely Cathedral on August 30 and is expected to be attended by 2,000 people.

Andrew Short, 26, a family friend of Kevin and Nicola Wells, said the couple had received a letter from Prince Charles.

He said: "It makes it that little bit easier for them. It won't change anything but it does make it that bit easier. It's those things which help them get up in the morning."

He said the family planned to celebrate the life of Holly at the memorial service.

"They are hoping that the service will be a nice occasion. It won't be like a funeral but it will be a celebration of the lives the girls had."

Huntley, 28, who is being held in Rampton top security hospital after been charged with murdering the girls and sectioned under the Mental Health Act, did work at Soham Village College.

But at a meeting on Thursday night the college governors decided that it would be "untenable" for him to return to work under any circumstances and terminated his contract with immediate effect.

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesman said: "The governing body terminated his employment on the grounds that whatever the outcome of the legal proceedings it would be untenable for him to return."

Huntley has been charged along with his girlfriend Maxine Carr, 25, a former teaching assistant who worked at Holly and Jessica's school.

She appeared in court earlier this week where she was formally charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. (Story)

Holly and Jessica disappeared from near their homes in Soham on August 4. Their bodies were found at a wooded spot less than 10 miles away on August 17. Post-mortem results have so far not revealed how they died.