Missing Georgia Williams a bubbly teenager say Telford neighbours

Pat and Jim Hayward, who live near Georgia's home in Wellington, said they had known her for about seven years.

They said she would "always have a smile and stop for a chat" and said her disappearance was like a "terrible nightmare".

Mrs Hayward said: "She was only small when they came here. She used to stop and talk to our dog, Murphy, and we've always chatted. She loves the dog.

"She just is full of life and a lovely girl, very focussed and very sure. She knows what she wants. She's very career-minded. She's in the RAF cadets and she was head girl of Ercall Wood Technology College. She's very clever and very talented.

"We're devastated. She's just full of life and she's always happy. She's very, very smiley. She's always been outgoing, but a very mature girl as well.

"She works in the garage for a few hours every week and she's at college now.

"She's lovely. Anything she could be involved in she was. She was a part of everything. If something was going on, Georgia would always be involved.

"We know her older sister Scarlett as well. She's at university now I think and her parents Steve and Lynette. They're just a lovely family, like a normal happy family."

Mr Hayward said it was difficult to believe that someone from their quiet street could have gone missing.

He said: "It doesn't sink in. You can't believe it. It's a shock, and you just can't believe it's happened.

"Words can't explain how everyone's feeling in the estate. We just can't believe it. It's like a terrible nightmare. We've got two girls so we can't imagine the distress her family is feeling.

"She has a real smile and a lovely bubbly nature. We hope she'll be found. You just will it, if she's trapped in a room or something. That's what we want to believe, and be positive, and hope that she's still reunited with her family."

Another neighbour, Mary O'Shea, knew the teenager well when she was younger, as she was close friends with her grand daughter, Tabitha.

"She is such a lovely girl," she said. "She's very bubbly and very, very confident and likeable, even from when she was five or six. When she was little she was a very happy little girl, and she was very clever, even then.

"Tabitha is 17 as well, and even though they went to different schools they were still friends. They were always together. My daughter would say it was like another little daughter, as if Tabitha had got a sister.

"When I heard on the radio I thought it must be someone else with the same name. It's terrible. Maybe she's just frightened or scared and doesn't know what to do. Anything else doesn't bear thinking about."

The teenager was also a fan of AFC Telford United and worked as one of the match day staff.

Former AFC Telford United midfielder Steve Palmer, who retired in 2011, took to Twitter to express his wishes for a safe return home.

He tweeted: "Watching news re Georgia Williams is heartbreaking! Hit home when they described her as a Telford fan. Fingers crossed for a miracle."

Supporters' Trust board member Luke Fearnall also tweeted his shock at the news.

He said: "Devastated at this morning's news. Tough day today, can only think of her family and friends. Must be awful, just waiting for news.

"(She) worked up in the cash office in the control tower. Yeah really hoping for a happy ending here. Wellington was very sombre earlier."

Staff at the BP petrol station in Holyhead Road, where Georgia has a job for a few hours each week, confirmed that she was a member of staff but declined to comment further on her disappearance.

Police are continuing to question a 22-year-old man, who was originally arrested at a Glasgow hotel early on Wednesday on suspicion of kidnapping Georgia.

But detectives from West Mercia Police, aided by colleagues from Warwickshire Police, arrested him on suspicion of murder on Wednesday night after he had been brought back to Telford from Scotland.

Georgia left her home at 7.30pm on Sunday and has not been seen by her family since.

Superintendent Nav Malik, of West Mercia Police, said: "We are still continuing to do all we can to trace the whereabouts of Georgia and I would remind people that she is described as being white, 5ft 3ins tall, slim and with long, dyed, red hair.

"She was last seen wearing a waist-length black leather jacket over a white T-shirt which has a London bus motif on it, while she was also wearing black, skinny jeans and flat, black suede slip-on shoes."

Garry Phillips, principal of New College Telford, said: "We are extremely concerned regarding Georgia Williams's welfare and we hope for her safe return to her family.

"Georgia joined us in September, studying a subsidiary diploma in applied biology, a subsidiary diploma in sport and an AS in psychology. She is part of our college community acting as a course representative and is a very popular student both with her fellow students and lecturers and is a bright and likeable young lady. We are hoping that the police search is successful in finding her safe and well as soon as possible".

Supt Malik renewed appeals about a Toyota van. He said: "We know that the silver Toyota van was in the Wrexham area at around 5pm on Monday and that it was heading towards the main arterial routes.

"Then, at about 10.30pm we now know that the vehicle was at Deeside, Queensferry, Cheshire, heading north.

"Work is ongoing to piece together the vehicle's exact movements between 5pm and 10.30pm but we are extremely keen to hear from anyone who believes they may have seen it during that time.

"We are doing all we can to follow up the information which is being provided by members of the public and I would like to thank everyone who has come forward with information for their response.

"However, we really want to ask people to concentrate on the time period between 5pm and 10.30pm on May 27 and I would ask that if members of the public or local businesses have CCTV, we would be very grateful for them to look at it and should the vehicle be seen, contact us immediately."

Anyone who believes they may have information that could help find Georgia should call 0800 056 0944 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Song by friend Dan Crossley on missing Georgia: