A FIFTH family was due to gather today to say goodbye to a daughter and friend remembered as a “lively free spirit”.The funeral of Anneli Alderton was to be held at the West Chapel at Ipswich Crematorium this afternoon with friends and family gathering for a short service of remembrance.

A FIFTH family was due to gather today to say goodbye to a daughter and friend remembered as a “lively free spirit”.

The funeral of Anneli Alderton was to be held at the West Chapel at Ipswich Crematorium this afternoon with friends and family gathering for a short service of remembrance.

Miss Alderton was to be the last victim to be laid to rest, ending another chapter in the horrific events of last year.

The 24-year-old is thought to have been the third victim of the killer or killers preying on the county's women.

Tania Nicol, 19, Gemma Adams, 25, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29, also lost their lives between October 30 and December 12.

Miss Alderton, a former Copleston High School student was pregnant at the time of her death and also leaves behind a child.

Her body was found near Amberfield School in Nacton on Sunday, December 10, she had been strangled.

Miss Alderton had been living in Colchester at the time of her death and was last seen on December 3 taking a train from Harwich, where her mother lived, to Manningtree.

Following the discovery of her body, tributes poured into The Evening Star telling of Miss Alderton's bright and cheeky personality.

Jane Rowe, Miss Alderton's step-sister, said: “She was very bright very intelligent.

“She made you laugh. She was quite cheeky as a teenager. She was a really nice person.”

Miss Alderton attended Clifford Road Primary School and Copleston High School and spent some time living with her mother in Cyprus where she became fluent in Greek.

Miss Alderton's father died when she was 15 and grief overcame her causing a downward spiral.

She started taking drugs and turned to prostitution as a way of funding her habit.

Friends, however, want her to be remembered for the joy she brought to them.

In tributes posted on the Star website, one friend known as Natalie said: “Sweet Anni, I can't believe that this could happen to you and your family and it breaks my heart.

“You were always kind to me when I knew you and always so full of life.”

Do you want to pay tribute to Anneli? Write to: Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail: eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk