Murdered Jo's best friend 'desperate to see justice done'

Rebecca Scott was the last person known to have spoken to Miss Yeates as she walked home after enjoying Christmas drinks with work colleagues on the night she disappeared.

Miss Scott, 25, said they were "inseparable" after meeting at college in Winchester, Hampshire, more than 10 years ago and remained close friends despite going to different universities.

In a heartfelt appeal, the PhD student said: "We are now all desperate to see justice done, so if anyone has information I urge you to call the police.

"You may not have seen or heard anything but think back - has a friend or family member been acting strangely or suspiciously?

"If so please call the police and think about how you'd never want your best friend found murdered on Christmas Day."

The friends used to meet up when they could either in Bristol, at their parents' homes in Hampshire or in Swansea, where Miss Scott is studying. She added: "Every memory I have of her is a fond one, from those first nights out we had together to those holidays in Cornwall where we'd spend time camping."

The Clifton Suspension Bridge has become a key part of the investigation into Miss Yeates's murder, linking her flat in Clifton to where her body was found in Failand, north Somerset, but Miss Scott said it was a special place to Miss Yeates while she was alive.

"When I came to Bristol to visit, we'd often sit by the Clifton Suspension Bridge – this was one of her favourite places - and talk about everything best friends do," she said in a statement issued by Avon and Somerset Police.

"She was a great friend and I have many fond memories of her, everyone did."

Landscape architect Miss Yeates shared her flat in Canynge Road, Clifton, with boyfriend, Greg Reardon, 27, whom she had been seeing for more than two years.

He had been away for the weekend, visiting family in Sheffield, and raised the alarm when he returned to Bristol two days later.