IS it really five years since the dreadful news broke that missing French student Celine Figard's body had been found in a copse near a layby close to Worcester?

It is. What's more, there's a greater poignancy to the anniversary as it falls on the same day of the week on which the grim discovery was made.

The Figard family, unsurprisingly, remain haunted by her murder. And, though everyone will be hoping - for their sakes - that the mood changes with time, equally, there's only thing which will make that happen. They need killer Stuart Morgan's confession as to why he killed the 19-year-old after raping her in his cab.

Given that he continues to proclaim his innocence, that crumb of comfort is unlikely to be offered to them.

As to where that leaves them, perhaps PC Derek Chandler is best placed to express an opinion.

He has built a remarkable relationship with the family in the past five years, a time in which he's become greatly impressed by their quiet dignity.

That dignity is a significant reason why, we believe, so many people continue to lay flowers at Celine's Hawford shrine.

Though M Figard is surprised by it, it's a small contribution for the community to pay to a family which has every reason to regard England and the English with bitterness.

Derek Chandler was very rightly praised, and formally commended, for his work with the Figards in the months after Celine's body was found, the hunt for her killer, the building of the case which nailed Morgan, the trauma of the murder trial itself, and the aftermath of his jailing for life.

Five years on, Mr Chandler's devotion to duty, his sense of community and his deep compassion remain a lesson to us all.

In return, we trust that passers-by and local residents will continue to mark the place, the event and the consequences in a fitting way.