Daughter of Soham killer Ian Huntley explains why she wants to meet him but only once

The daughter of one of 21st century Britain's most infamous killers wants to meet her father for the first time - but only once.

In 2002 schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman went missing in Soham, Cambridgeshire, after going to a shop to buy sweets - sparking a frantic search that struck deeply at the country’s consciousness.

The bodies of the two 10-year-olds were found around six miles away near RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk after a 13-day search.

Ian Huntley, a caretaker at the girls' school, would later be found guilty of their murders and sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison after claiming Holly drowned in his bath and that he had accidentally suffocated Jessica trying to stop her from screaming.

Now his daughter, Samantha Bryan, wants to meet her father - hoping to get to the truth about what really happened.

The 25-year-old, who only found out Huntley was her dad when she was 14, fears the 49-year-old may take the truth to the grave with him due to a number of health issues and attacks in prison.

Speaking to the MailOnline, she said: "I want him to tell the truth, so I can pass that on to the families of Holly and Jessica as they are very much on my mind.

"Knowing their families have never been given the truth causes me profound sadness, I think about it far more than I should."

Samantha, who was conceived when her mum was just 15 and was four when the Soham murders took place, has written Huntley a letter asking that he considers meeting, but added she "cannot think in terms of forgiveness".

She has needed counselling and still occasionally suffers from nightmares about her killer father - with her mother telling her the entire story when she turned 18.

Samantha added: "He has now reached halfway through his sentences, but Holly and Jessica were robbed of their future and so were their families.

"I don't think he should ever be freed. But even so, he should do the right thing. It can just bring a little bit of peace to all of those who have the agony of wondering what happened every day."

She says people still stop her on the street and tell her "I know who your dad is" and that people have left her in relationships because of her connection to the man she describes as "a bogeyman, like the Yorkshire Ripper or Fred West".

Samantha, who said she turns over the TV if Huntley appears on it, told the MailOnline: "One day I may become a mother myself – and I want to be able to tell my daughter that while there is a monster in the family, he did meet me and did tell the truth and express deep remorse.

"Perhaps expecting that to happen is a futile dream but it's one that I'm willing to try."