A FRIEND of murdered schoolgirl Zoe Evans has spoken of the pain she still feels six years after her death.

Kayleigh Bremner, 16, has just started sitting her GCSE exams and would have loved for her close friend to be by her side to offer moral support.

The teenager, of Goodwin Close, Warminster, has backed the Wiltshire Times' campaign appealing to Home Secretary David Blunkett to review the case and set a minimum prison sentence for killer Miles Evans immediately.

She said: "I think life should mean life. All my friends and family have been filling in forms."

Kayleigh, Zoe and two other girls were inseparable at New Close Primary School, Warminster, but the tragic events in 1997 left the pupils shocked and inconsolable.

Even six years on, Kayleigh still admits crying when she hears certain songs which remind her of nine-year-old Zoe, but is determined to overpower these feelings by thinking about all the good times they shared.

She said: "We used to be in the same lessons, and after school we would run around the park, making a nuisance of ourselves.

"She was quite a character. She was very lively and had a smile for everyone.

"Don't Speak by No Doubt is a song which makes me upset because there is a line in it about losing my best friend."

When Zoe went missing from her army home in Pepper Place on January 11, Kayleigh refused to give up hope of someone finding her alive. But when she heard the devastating news on February 26 that her body had been found she started screaming out Zoe's name during vivid nightmares.

"It was a really anxious time and teachers tried to reassure us," said Kayleigh. "When she was found we had an assembly and the police told us what had happened and we all started crying our eyes out.

"One of her friends had to have counselling and she is only just starting to get better. She had a life-size photo of Zoe in her room and has only just taken it down.

Kayleigh's dad, Andy, 38, who serves with the Royal Signals, was based in Warminster at the time of Zoe's disappearance and took part in the intensive search operation.

He said: "It was worse because I knew her," he said. "It caused a lot of tension in the camp. After she was found Kayleigh couldn't look out of her window because she used to be able to see where Zoe was buried.

"I didn't know him (Evans) but I knew of him. He deserves to rot in jail for what he did I hope he suffers."