A NEIGHBOUR of murdered teenager Tania Nicol today said she had "only nice words" to say about her.The woman, who did not wish to be named, said she had known the family for 13 years but felt they were private people who were not well-known in the neighbourhood.

A NEIGHBOUR of murdered teenager Tania Nicol today said she had "only nice words" to say about her.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, said she had known the family for 13 years but felt they were private people who were not well-known in the neighbourhood.

She said the Nicol family had moved from one house in Woolverstone Close to another house in the Pinewood street before she moved in.

She said: “Tania was always very polite and was quite a sweet girl really.

“She was a friendly little girl, she spoke nicely and wasn't rough.

“There are only nice things to say about her really.”

The woman said her thoughts were now with Tania's mum Kerry and her brother Aaron, who is about 15.

She said: “I feel so sorry for Kerry.

“It is so sad. It got to one point last week when I wasn't sleeping. I just wanted her to come home and be back safely.”

The neighbour said she hadn't seen Tania for quite some time before the summer and believes she might have been living away.

The last time she saw the 19-year-old was the Thursday before she went missing at a bus stop near her home.

She said the family were very private and Tania's mum looked out for her, adding: “She (Tania) didn't play in the street much as a youngster. Her mother used to worry like anything when they were little and if they were playing she would be at the window watching - she was very protective.”

Other residents in Woolverstone Close have told how they saw the 19-year-old grow up in the close

One resident, who also did not want to be named, said it was "too painful" to talk about the girl who had grown up with her daughter.

She said she needed to privately deal with how she was feeling.

Kerry Nicol, Tania's mum, is believed to be too upset to speak publicly about her daughter.

Tania grew up in the Pinewood area, attending first Gusford Primary School and then Chantry High.

She is remembered fondly as a happy child by one of her primary school friends

The 18-year-old, who did not wish to be named, said she was shocked and saddened when she heard a body had been found on Friday and had assumed it was Tania.

She said: “My main memory of Tania is her laugh really. I haven't been able to get her laugh out of my head since the body was found.

“She was a lovely little girl, she was always happy and we got on well.

“We were always the ones at the back of the class giggly and I think we must have got told off quite a bit.”

The teenager said she and Miss Nicol drifted apart when they started high school and her friend didn't attend school very often.

She said there were rumours Miss Nicol had got engaged when she was 14 or 15 but she is thought to have split up with her boyfriend a couple of years later.

Miss Nicol is also thought to have turned to drugs at the end of school and it is believed this led her on the path to prostitution.

On the night of her disappearance, on Monday, October 30, the 19-year-old left her home in Pinewood and headed into town.

Her last confirmed sighting was at 11.02pm, close to the exit of the Sainsbury's garage on London Road, Ipswich.

Unconfirmed sightings place her in Handford Road several minutes later.

To pay your tribute to Tania Nicol visit the online book of condolence at www.eveningstar.co.uk.