A HUGE milestone has been reached in an appeal set up in memory of Gemma Adams after the fund broke through the £25,000 barrier.The 25-year-old's parents Brian and Gail have today said a massive thank you to the community for helping to raise the cash which is in aid of the East Anglian Children's Hospice in Ipswich.

A HUGE milestone has been reached in an appeal set up in memory of Gemma Adams after the fund broke through the £25,000 barrier.

The 25-year-old's parents Brian and Gail have today said a massive thank you to the community for helping to raise the cash which is in aid of the East Anglian Children's Hospice in Ipswich.

Miss Adams was one of five women whose bodies were found at locations around Ipswich in December.

All five had worked in the town's red-light district before they went missing.

Speaking from the family's Kesgrave home, Mr Adams said: “Money has come from so many different sources that we haven't been able to personally thank everybody but we want to people to know how grateful we are.

“As far as we're concerned, as a family, we've gained a lot of strength and a great deal of pleasure from being able to play a part in that giving.”

Mrs Adams said reaching the milestone of £25,000 was extra special.

She said: “It feels very poignant to have reached the £25,000 mark, which is a thousand pounds for each year of Gemma's life.

“We want to carry on raising money, simply because the cause is so worthwhile. The appeal is ongoing and will be for some while yet.

“Without having the appeal to focus on during the early days it would have been extremely difficult to carry on at all. By having it, coupled with the support we've received from all of our family and friends, we've been able to cope.”

Hundreds of people have supported Gemma's Gift, with many giving online and others passing money on to the family to be added to the total.

Some of the cash has been donated by family and friends of the Adams family, but the vast majority has come from people not known to them. Each donation has been left with a poignant message of grief at the loss of Gemma and the four other victims and also support for the friends and families left behind.

The family has been told the money will be used for music and light therapy as well as for buying musical instruments.

n To donate to Gemma's Gift, visit www.justgiving.com/gemmasgift or call 01473 324847 or send a cheque (payable to EACH) to: East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH), 6 Walker Close, Ipswich, IP3 8LY. Please mark your donation 'GEMMA'S GIFT'.

n Steve Wright, 48, of London Road, Ipswich, has been charged with the murder of all five women and is due to appear at Ipswich Crown Court on May 1.