Angry scenes as man is accused of killing April

Mark Bridger cried to himself as he confirmed his name, age and address, and that he understood the charges.

Bridger is accused of abducting and murdering April, and of unlawfully disposing of and concealing of her body with intent to pervert the course of justice.

There were angry scenes outside Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court as the police van Bridger was in was punched and kicked while members of the crowd shouted “Scum” and “F****** kill him”.

During the four-minute hearing Bridger, who wore a blue jumper, was remanded in custody to appear at Caernarfon Crown Court on Wednesday.

The unshaven 46-year-old did not make eye contact with anyone, but answered “yes” when asked if he had understood each charge. He also confirmed his date of birth as November 6, 1965, and his Mount Pleasant farmhouse address in the village Ceinws.

April was last seen near her home on the Bryn-y-Gog estate in the mid-Wales town of Machynlleth last Monday evening. Bridger was arrested the following day, but the search for April’s body goes on.

The five-year-old was last seen getting into what is believed to have been a Land Rover Discovery.

Her parents Coral Jones, 40, and husband Paul, 44, had allowed her to play out late as a treat after she received a glowing school report that day at a parents’ evening which Bridger also attended.

Bridger, who owns a Discovery, was arrested last Tuesday afternoon and was charged on Saturday.

The case sparked an outpouring of support for April’s parents, with hundreds of people joining in the search and offering their assistance.

Last night April’s family were due to release a Chinese lantern from their garden in Machynlleth, and asked friends, neighbours, and anyone else across the country to light a small candle at the same time to remember her.

On Sunday more than 700 people packed into Machynlleth’s St Peter’s Church to attend an emotional service.

The Rev Kathleen Rogers, who led the moving sermon, said prayers for April’s parents and paid tribute to the community who had pulled together to help in the search.

She read a touching poem on behalf of April’s mother called Mum as the Bishop of Bangor, the Rt Rev Andy John, said the tight-knit community had “touched the heart of people around the world”. He revealed that emails had been received from as far afield as South Africa and New Zealand – with a church in Texas even making a donation.

Mountain rescue teams were stood down on Sunday as the search operation switched emphasis. But the hunt continued yesterday, with investigating officers revealing police numbers on the ground had been 
doubled.

Night-time search efforts have been suspended, with the shift in manpower being described as a change of “resources rather intensity”.

Superintendent Ian John, who has led the search for the missing schoolgirl, said: “We are upping our numbers to 18 teams which will be over 100 officers.”