Georgia Williams murder: 'Sexual deviant' Jamie Reynolds jailed for life after luring teenager to his home and hanging her

By Richard Vernalls - Independent.co.uk

December 20, 2013

The family of a 17-year-old girl murdered after she was lured to her death by a “sexual deviant” branded a “potential serial killer” have spoken of their heart-breaking loss.

Former head girl Georgia Williams, described as popular and intelligent, became the twisted obsession of violent porn-addicted Jamie Reynolds, a shop worker, from her home town of Wellington, Shropshire.

Reynolds, 23, duped Miss Williams into going to his parents' home for a photo-shoot but killed the defenceless teenager in a meticulously planned trap, hanging her from a length of rope attached to the loft hatch.

At Stafford Crown Court today, Reynolds, who had previously admitted murder, was handed a whole-of-life jail sentence with Mr Justice Wilkie telling him he had plotted murder for his own “sadistic pleasure”.

Outside the court, Miss Williams' father Steven Williams said: “We will never ever see smiles again from Georgia and that breaks my heart every day.”

Inside court, Mr Williams - a serving detective with West Mercia Police - broke down as he read an impact statement, telling the judge the vile details of what Reynolds had done to his daughter were “horrific and beyond comprehension”.

Watched through tears by Miss Williams' mother Lynnette and older sister Scarlett, Mr Williams added the death “sees us totally and utterly destroyed - we struggle to function.”

Throughout, Reynolds sat slumped and unmoving in the dock with his head in his hands.

Mr Justice Wilkie, sentencing, agreed with a psychiatric report that Reynolds, who had gone to great length to plan and execute his crime on Sunday, May 26, while his parents were away, “had the potential to progressing to become a serial killer”.

He said: “You watched her die in circumstances where you could have saved her - and doing so was a central part of your pleasure.”

The judge added: “After the killing you took sexual pleasure in her body, then treated her body with contempt, dumping her in a remote area.”

He went on: “You intended to continue to derive sexual pleasure by photographing these events, keeping them with you, and secreting her clothing and jewellery.”

Mr Justice Wilkie said Reynolds had a “long-standing preoccupation with violent and sadistic pornography” and his victim “must have suffered terribly”.

Continuing to address Reynolds, who was wearing a suit and standing with his head bowed and hands clasped behind his back, he said: “This is not a marginal or borderline case.

“I am in no doubt the seriousness of your offending, so a whole-of-life term is the starting point.”

He added: “I take very seriously the conclusion of (psychiatrist) Prof Paul Peckitt that you have the potential to become a serial killer.”

The judge added he was satisfied Reynolds had “been obsessed” with carrying out his sadistic fantasy for at least five years.

“My conclusion is that I am of the opinion that because of the seriousness of this offence no minimum term should apply.”

Prosecutor David Crigman QC said Reynolds carried out a “scripted, sadistic and sexually-motivated murder” and planned the killing of the 17-year-old meticulously.

Outlining the case before sentencing, Mr Crigman described Reynolds as a manipulative individual and “a sexual deviant” who has had “a morbid fascination in pornography depicting violence towards young women in sexual context since at least 2008”.

In May, Reynolds invited Georgia for a photo-shoot at his parents' home in Avondale Road, Wellington, where he killed her.

Reynolds then posed her body, both partly clothed and naked, in different parts of the house including on his parents' bed, also carrying out sordid sex acts.

Mr Crigman said at the time of his arrest for murder, Reynolds had 16,800 images and 72 videos of extreme pornography stored on an external computer hard drive, including digitally doctored images of up to eight other women he personally knew in which ropes had been added around their necks.

Reynolds had also written 40 graphic short stories where women were murdered, “followed by acts of sexual violation”, according to Mr Crigman.

It also emerged in the prosecution case that Reynolds - who appears to have been particularly taken with red-haired women - had written a “script” in which he detailed trapping and killing a victim, adding that much of that script had echoed the manner in which he had killed Miss Williams.

Texts and messages between Reynolds and Miss Williams were also read out in court in which he had spoken of his romantic feelings towards the teenager.

It was an advance she rebuffed, telling him in February: “I don't see you in that way. Just stop, I don't want to ruin our friendship. I told you last time, I just wanted to be friends.”

Mr Crigman said Reynolds's fascination with Miss Williams was undeterred and he had written a gruesome story on his mobile phone entitled “Georgia Williams in Surprise” in which she died following a sex game.

It depicted the victim as a willing participant but that element, Mr Crigman said, could not have been further from the truth.

In May, Miss Williams accepted Reynolds' invitation to take part in a photo-shoot at his parents' house while they were holidaying in Italy.

Reynolds had bought items including a rope, learning to tie a noose and attaching it to what Mr Crigman described as a “hanging mechanism” fitted to the loft hatch in the house, above the landing.

He also bought a leather jacket, leather shorts and high heels for Georgia to wear during the “shoot” and in a chilling message beforehand told her he wanted to take a photograph of her “like simulation hanging, but you'd be standing on a box”.

Miss Williams arrived at the house on the evening of May 26, telling her parents and sister where she was going and that she would only be a couple of hours.

Mr Crigman said that, as she walked the short distance from her parents' home, there was evidence Reynolds watched extreme pornography “to stimulate himself”.

After her death, police recovered several seemingly innocuous photographs taken by Reynolds showing Miss Williams “happy”, “compliant” and fully clothed, although it was clear she could have had no idea of her killer's real intent until it was too late.

The final photographs showed her standing on a red recycling box, hands seemingly bound behind her, with the rope hanging above her, Mr Crigman added.

The prosecutor said: “Photo 12 displays the correct time - 8.20pm. Her face still does not depict any sign of alarm and that is in fact the last photo of her alive.”

Reynolds then used Miss Williams phone to text her mother telling her she was staying with friends overnight.

He used that time to flee with Miss WIlliams' corpse in the back of his step-father's van, but was later arrested in Glasgow following a manhunt on May 29.

When questioned, he refused to divulge were he had dumped her body.

Her naked corpse was eventually found in a stream in remote woodland in the Nant-y-Garth pass, near Wrexham, where it had been subjected to the vagaries of the wilds.

Her father later told the court that he and Miss Williams' mother would carry the scars of the memory of seeing their daughter's body, as it lay in the hospital's chapel of rest, “from here to eternity”.

Miss Williams had also suffered abrasions caused, the prosecution said, by Reynolds when he dragged her from his van to the secluded site.

It also emerged that before dumping her remains, he had calmly gone to watch a film at the cinema in Wrexham while her body lay in the back of the van.

In interview, Reynolds denied any knowledge of what had become of Miss Williams but later said: “I just can't believe I have hurt her - that was never my intention,” Mr Crigman told the court.

A post-mortem showed Miss Williams' died of asphyxia as a result of pressure to the neck, probably caused by a ligature.

Further examination also found bruising in her back indicating Reynolds had levered the helpless teenager using his knee to apply further downward pressure.

Outside the court, Mr Williams said: “There is no sentence that we can ever say we're satisfied with because it'll never bring Georgia back.

“She's dead, she's gone physically and lives in our hearts.”

He added, whatever the length of prison term, Reynolds still had the one thing he had denied his teenage daughter - life.

“The one thing that will always get to us and cause us grief is the fact that even though Jamie Reynolds is serving a full life sentence he still has life to hang onto,” he said.

During the trial, it emerged that Reynolds had come to the police's attention in 2008 when he received what the judge called “a final warning” after trapping another 17-year-old girl in his home, in what was a chilling precursor to Miss Williams' murder.

In 2011, he was again reported, this time after reversing his car into that of a girl who had spurned his amorous advances.

After sentencing, West Mercia Police's investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Neil Jamieson branded Reynolds “a sadistic, very dangerous and manipulative individual” who had gone out of his way to prey on young women.

However, he also confirmed a multi-agency serious case review was now under way dealing with the force's prior contact with Reynolds, and would publish its findings early in the new year.

He added the Independent Police Complaints Commission was being kept informed of the review's progress.

'I cry endlessly from morning to night... we have been damned by evil to endure this misery to the end of our lives': Agony of father of murdered teenager Georgia Williams as her killer is jailed for life

• Stephen Williams read an emotional victim impact statement to court

• Judge offered to read it, but Mr Williams was determined to have his say

• Says 'beautiful daughter' was killed 'for a few moments of self-gratification

• Jamie Reynolds had 'morbid fascination in pornography depicting violence'

• When arrested he had 16,800 images and 72 videos of extreme pornography

• Court told he carried out 'scripted, sadistic and sexually-motivated murder'

• Reynolds pleaded guilty earlier this month to murdering Georgia in May

By James Rushand Lucy Crossley - DailyMail.co.uk

December 19, 2013

The grieving father of murdered teenager Georgia Williams broke down in tears as he told a court how his 'beautiful' daughter's life was taken 'for a few moments of evil self-gratification'.

Policeman Stephen Williams gave his heart-breaking speech just before killer Jamie Reynolds was given a whole life sentence for killing the 17-year-old former head girl.

Mr Justice Wilkie, sentencing, offered to read Mr Williams's victim impact statement on the 54-year-old's behalf, but the determined father-of-two replied: 'Thank you for the consideration but I'd like to do it myself.'

Reading from his statement, Mr Williams told Stafford Crown Court that he cried 'endlessly' over the loss of his 'truly wonderful' daughter.

He said: 'Words are used like devastated and crushed, they use them to describe impacts such as this.

'But there are none yet written that can truly convey to others what it is like, what it is really like to lose your precious daughter.

'I'm not ashamed to say I cry endlessly from morning to night.

'We have been damned by evil to endure this sorrow and misery to the end of our natural lives.

'We miss the sweet smile, the hugs and kisses and her infectious personality.

'Georgia's life was needlessly and selfishly taken and details of this case will haunt me forever.

'Georgia's life was taken for a few moments of evil self-gratification.'

Reynolds, described as a violent porn-obsessed 'sexual deviant' and 'potential serial killer' was handed a whole-life jail term for luring Georgia to his home before hanging her and abusing her body.

The 23-year-old, of Wellington, Shropshire, had admitted killing Georgia, but Mr Williams said that the guilty plea had not saved his family from having to hear the gruesome details of how she had met her death.

'The guilty plea didn't stop us having to hear and see things that no parent, in fact no person should ever have to experience,' he said.

'We have been told about details of the case that are upsetting, horrific and beyond comprehension.

'Any day when we have to hear evidence of what happened to Georgia leaves us totally and utterly destroyed.'

Mr Justice Wilkie, sentencing, agreed with a psychiatric report that Reynolds, who had meticulously planned and executed his crime on Sunday, May 26, while his parents were away, 'had the potential to progressing to become a serial killer'.

The judge said Reynolds had plotted his murder 'to give sadistic pleasure'.

'You watched her die in circumstances where you could have saved her - and doing so was a central part of your pleasure.'

The judge added: 'After the killing you took sexual pleasure in her body, then treated her body with contempt, dumping her in a remote area.'

He went on: 'You intended to continue to derive sexual pleasure by photographing these events, keeping them with you, and secreting her clothing and jewellery.'

Mr Justice Wilkie said Reynolds had a 'long-standing preoccupation with violent and sadistic pornography' and his victim 'must have suffered terribly'.

Continuing to address Reynolds, who stood head bowed with his hands clasped behind his back, he said: 'This is not a marginal or borderline case.

'I am in no doubt the seriousness of your offending, so a whole-of-life term is the starting point.'

He added: 'I take very seriously the conclusion of (psychiatrist) Prof Paul Peckitt that you have the potential to become a serial killer.'

The judge added he was satisfied Reynolds had 'been obsessed' with carrying out his sadistic fantasy for at least five years.

'My conclusion is that I am of the opinion that because of the seriousness of this offence no minimum term should apply.'

Prosector David Crigman QC said Reynolds carried out a 'scripted, sadistic and sexually-motivated murder' and planned the killing of the 17-year-old meticulously.

Outlining the case before sentencing, Mr Crigman described Reynolds was a manipulative individual and 'a sexual deviant' who has had 'a morbid fascination in pornography depicting violence towards young women in sexual context since at least 2008'.

In May, Reynolds invited Georgia for a photo-shoot at his parents' home in Avondale Road, Wellington, Shropshire, where he trapped and killed the defenceless teenager.

Reynolds then posed her body, both partly clothed and naked, in different parts of the house including on his parents' bed.

Georgia's father Steven - a serving detective with West Mercia Police - mother Lynnette and sister Scarlett left the courtroom as the prosecution opened its case in graphic and chilling detail, charting what it called Reynolds's 'meticulous' planning of the murder, and the disposal of his victim's body.

Across the room, Georgia's boyfriend Matthew Bird gazed at Reynolds as the facts of his crime were laid bare in Mr Crigman's submissions.

Throughout the hearing, Reynolds, wearing a two-piece suit, purple shirt and tie, sat slumped in his chair in the dock gazing down at his hands.

At a hearing earlier this month he pleaded guilty to murdering Georgia, who had spurned his romantic advances.

Mr Crigman said at the time of his arrest for murder, Reynolds had 16,800 images and 72 videos of extreme pornography stored on an external computer hard drive, including digitally doctored images of up to eight other women he personally knew in which ropes had been added around their necks.

Mr Crigman said the defendant had also annotated these images with male genitalia, also referring to the girls in a derogatory manner and daubing some with 'crude language' of a sexual nature.

Reynolds had also written 40 graphic short stories involving a fatal assault on a woman, 'followed by acts of sexual violation', according to Mr Crigman.

It also emerged in the prosecution case that Reynolds had written a 'script' in which he described in detail trapping and killing a victim.

Mr Crigman said in regards to murdering Georgia, Reynolds - who appeared particularly taken with red-haired women - had followed 'a good deal of his pre-written script'.

Texts and messages between Reynolds and Georgia were read out in which he shared his romantic feelings for the teenager - an advance she rebuffed, telling him in February: 'I don't see you in that way. Just stop, I don't want to ruin our friendship. I told you last time, I just wanted to be friends.'

Mr Crigman said Reynolds's fascination with Georgia appeared undeterred and he had written a gruesome story on his mobile phone entitled 'Georgia Williams in Surprise' in which she died, following a sex game depicting the victim as a willing participant.

That element, Mr Crigman said, could not have been further from the truth.

In May, Georgia accepted Reynolds's invitation to take part in a photo-shoot at his parents' house while they were holidaying in Italy.

Reynolds had bought items including a rope, learning to tie a noose and attaching it to what Mr Crigman described as a 'hanging mechanism' in the house.

He also bought a leather jacket, leather shorts and high heels for Georgia to wear during the 'shoot' and in a chilling message beforehand told her he wanted to take a photograph of her 'like simulation hanging'.

Georgia did not reply, but turned up at the house on the evening of Sunday May 26, telling her parents and sister where she was going and that she would only be a couple of hours.

Mr Crigman said that as she walked the short distance from her parents' home, there was evidence Reynolds watched extreme pornography 'to stimulate himself'.

After her death, police recovered several seemingly innocuous photographs which they say were taken by Reynolds showing Georgia 'happy' and 'compliant' and fully clothed, wearing make-up.

The prosecutor said: 'Photo 12 displays the correct time - 8.20pm. Her face still does not depict any sign of alarm and that is in fact the last photo of her alive.'

Reynolds was arrested in Glasgow following a manhunt on May 29 after Georgia's body was found in secluded woodland near Wrexham.

Jamie Reynolds took photos of himself killing Georgia Williams, court hears

Jamie Reynolds, 23, has pleaded guilty to murdering Georgia Williams, 17, by strangling her after luring her to his home

By Hayley Dixon - Telegraph.co.uk

December 2, 2013

A shop worker lured a police detective's teenage daughter to his home and took pictures of himself strangling her to death, it has been revealed after he admitted her murder.

Former head girl Georgia Williams, 17, was choked to death by Jamie Reynolds, 23, after she spurned his advances.

It emerged earlier that he took a sequence of pictures showing events "before, during and after" the murder before driving her body to North Wales where he dumped it in woodland then going on the run.

Police piecing together Miss Williams’ last moments found the distressing images as well as extreme pornographic images which Reynolds had pasted over with images of his friends faces.

They also discovered sexual stories that he had written about Miss Williams, Stafford Crown Court heard.

Reynolds, who initially denied the murder, changed his plea on the first day of his trial.

The court heard Reynolds had lured Miss Williams to his home in Wellington, Telford, Shropshire, on May 26 this year, offering to take photographs of her for a modelling portfolio.

But when she arrived he strangled her to death.

Prosecutor David Crigman QC told the court that there were photographs which only the judge would see moments before and after Miss Williams’ death.

He said: "There is photographic evidence relevant to the act moments before and after the murder took place.

"There are also photos of innocent girls who put their pictures on social networking websites that have been corrupted by the defendant.

"There are also certain story lines the defendant has written that we have found."

It also emerged that Reynolds, who worked as a petrol station attendant, had a fascination in extreme pornography and would superimpose the faces of female Facebook friends onto the bodies of naked women.

Police seized between 30 and 50 images but it was unclear whether they included Miss Williams.

Reynolds also wrote down sexual fantasies about Miss Williams which were discovered in a notepad in his bedroom.

Warning him he faced life in prison, Mr Justice Wilkie expressed relief on behalf of the family that they had not been forced to endure a trial.

He said: "Some details are of such nature for it to be given wider publicity would cause untold distress."

Miss Williams- an army cadet who had dreamed of joining the RAF as a paramedic - was reported missing by her dad Stephen, 56, a detective constable with West Mercia Police, and mum Lynette, 51, when she failed to return home.

She had attended a photo-shoot at Reynolds' house, half-a-mile from her family home, and it is thought that she died between 8pm and 9pm that night.

After killing her, Reynolds drove 50 miles to remote woodland off the Nant-y-Garth pass near Wrexham where he dumped her body.

He then fled to Scotland via Rhyl, Chester, and Kendal in Cumbria.

A UK-wide manhunt was launched and he was arrested in Glasgow outside a Premier Inn hotel in Glasgow City Centre on May 28, three days after her disappearance and before her body had been found.

Reynolds previously made advances on Facebook towards Miss Williams but she made clear she did not want a relationship with him.

He even claimed on social networking site Ask.fm he had kissed her and asked her out to a Valentine's Day party.

But on May 8, just weeks after she updated her status to say she was in a relationship with Matthew Bird, Reynolds wrote on the site: "Whenever I arrange dates they either never happen or the girl magically gains a boyfriend.

"And it's worse when you actually like someone, your stuck, happy their happy but unhappy cos it's not you."

Reynolds also moaned about being "cursed" when it came to women and wrote that he would be "forever alone".

He said: "Plus I'm still kinda recovering my confidence even now from the girl I fell hopelessly in love with, and fighting didn't save that!"

At the time of the murder her friend Katy Lafferty, 17, revealed: "Georgia said Jamie did fancy her, but she made it obvious she wasn't interested.

"She just told him that their relationship was nothing more than a friendship. Apparently he tried to kiss her once, but she rejected him. I think it was a while ago though."

Georgia was Head Girl at Ercall Wood Technology College, a member of the student council at New College, a corporal with the 1130 Wrekin Squadron Air Training Corps and a volunteer member of AFC Telford United's Match Day Safety team.

Her parents and older sister Scarlett, 22, stared intensely at Reynolds who wore a dark suit, a striped shirt and a purple tie, during the 20 minute hearing.

The Georgia Williams Trust was set up in the weeks after her murder to provide a lasting long-term legacy for her local community.

Set up at the specific request of the teenager's family, the trust celebrates her life and achievements by enabling young people to access adventure, outdoor activities and volunteering.

Reynolds will be sentenced on December 19.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

26/5/13 – Miss William is reported missing from her home by her worried parents.

28/5/13 - Jamie Reynolds is arrested on suspicion of kidnapping her 280 miles away at a budget Premier Inn hotel in Glasgow city centre.

30/5/13 - Reynolds is arrested on suspicion of murder even though her body has not yet been found.

31/5/13 - Reynolds is charged with murder after her body is found dumped in woodland near Nant-y-Garth pass near Wrexham, North Wales.

1/6/13- Reynolds appears at Telford Magistrates Court and is remanded in custody.

4/6/13- Reynolds appears before Stafford Crown Court for a 10-minute preliminary hearing as police reveal she was killed by being choked to death with a ligature.

11/6/13 - Friends and family launch the Georgia Williams Trust

14/6/13 - Hundreds gather for Miss Williams’s funeral at All Saints Church, in Wellington.

3/10/13 - Reynolds appears at Birmingham Crown Court where he pleads not guilty to her murder

2/12/13 - Reynolds changes his plea to guilty in the first day of his trial at Stafford Crown Court.

Jamie Reynolds charged with murder of Georgia Williams

A man has been charged with the murder of a 17-year-old girl who went missing from her home

Telegraph.co.uk

June 1, 2013

Jamie Reynolds, 22, appeared at Telford Magistrates' Court in Shropshire, where he was charged with murdering Georgia Williams, from Wellington, Telford, on May 26.

Reynolds, also from Wellington, did not speak during the five-minute hearing. He was remanded into custody to appear at Stafford Crown Court on Tuesday.

Reynolds, who was wearing a black jumper, was charged following the discovery of a female body in woodland off the Nant-y-Garth pass near Wrexham.

West Mercia Police said the body has not yet been formally identified, but early indications suggest that the discovery relates to the investigation into the disappearance of Georgia.

Georgia, a former head girl at her old school, was last seen by her parents on Sunday evening when she told them she was going to see friends.

Reynolds was arrested in Glasgow city centre on Wednesday by officers from Police Scotland.

As Reynolds appeared in court, members of Georgia's family gathered on Saturday at Wellington AFC football ground in Wellington, Telford, Shropshire, to pay tribute to the teenager.

Her parents Steven and Lynette Williams were joined by more than 100 family, friends and well-wishers.

Mr Williams, is a serving West Mercia Police detective constable, said: "I don't really want to make any comment other than today is a day for Georgia and for us to meet her friends and for us all to celebrate her life."

Her boyfriend Matthew Bird, 19, and best friend 17-year-old Kate Lafferty were among those at the stadium as numerous friends and well-wishers arrived to leave flowers on the north stand and write in a book of condolence opened by the club where Georgia worked on match days.

Many wept as the football club's anthem Keeping the Dream Alive played.

Mr Bird said: "Today has just been outstanding.

"I can't explain to you how perfect it has been and, take away my feelings, the support everyone has given to her friends and family is phenomenal. I know she would be so proud."

Georgia, a former head girl at her old school, was last seen by her parents last Sunday evening when she told them she was going to see friends.

Detectives are appealling to the public to help trace missing personal items belonging to Georgia. They want to find a waist-length black leather type jacket, a pink flowered make-up bag and her white Samsung Galaxy Y mobile phone.

Detective Superintendent Adrian McGee, who is leading the investigation, said: "Despite a man appearing in court this morning charged with Georgia's murder, we still have a lot of work to do.

"The support the public and the media have given to our investigation so far has been fantastic, but we need to ask for their help once more as we try to find these items. "

Close friends of Georgia described her as "bubbly", with a great sense of humour.

Katy Lafferty, who was Georgia's best friend, said her disappearance was "heart-breaking".

The 17-year-old praised the support that had been expressed by thousands of people via social media.

Liam Ball who goes to New College in Telford, where Georgia attended lectures, described his friend as "friendly, bubbly and lovely with a great sense of humour".

The 18-year-old, of Shifnal, said: "She is everything you could want in a friend."

Friend rejected by missing Georgia Williams is arrested over her disappearance

Fears are growing for the safety of Georgia Williams, the missing 17-year-old daughter of a police officer, after a man whom she rejected on Valentine’s Day was arrested

By Nick Britten - Telegraph.co.uk

May 29, 2013

Georgia Williams, an RAF cadet and former head girl at her school, has not been seen since leaving her home in Shropshire on Sunday evening.

A man named locally as Jamie Reynolds, 22, a friend of the missing girl, was arrested at a hotel in Glasgow this morning on suspicion of kidnap.

Katy Lafferty, 17, a good friend of Miss Williams, said that Mr Reynolds was interested in her but that Miss Williams had made it clear that she had no feelings for him.

Facebook exchanges between the pair, who both live in Wellington, Shropshire, show that Mr Reynolds had asked out Miss Williams around Valentine’s Day, but she had declined.

In January, Mr Reynolds claimed online that he had kissed Miss Williams, and when asked if he liked anyone, he replied “fit and ginger”.

Twenty-one days ago Mr Reynolds also revealed his heartache on a social networking website after falling “hopelessly in love with a girl” who had started dating someone else. Miss Williams posted a status on her Facebook page on April 5 saying that she was in a relationship with a man called Matthew Bird.

Friends said that Miss Williams and Mr Reynolds knew each other from the Haygate pub in Wellington which puts on live music.

Miss Lafferty said: “He tried to kiss her some weeks ago. She always made it obvious she wasn’t interested that way.”

Miss Williams is studying for her A-levels at New College, Telford, and was formerly head girl at Ercall Wood Technology College in Wellington.

Today Miss Lafferty said she was “really looking forward” to her first driving lesson, due the morning after she disappeared.

The teenager, who lives with her parents Stephen, 57, a detective constable with West Mercia Police, and Lynette, 51, went out on Sunday evening and they expected her to stay with friends.

When she did not turn up to meet her boyfriend at the Slam Dunk music festival in Wolverhampton on Monday, he raised the alarm.

Mr Williams, who was awarded the Chief Constable Commendation, the highest accolade a force can bestow, for helping catch a rapist, began telephoning her friends in an effort to find out what had happened.

When that drew a blank he called his colleagues. Detectives were last night searching the Premier Inn in Glasgow, where Mr Reynolds was held, along with a silver Toyota Hiace van believed to belong to his mother’s partner, Shaun Thomas, an electrician.

Mr Reynolds is understood to work at Savers health and beauty shop in Wellington. Police were today searching the semi-detached house where he lives with his mother, Kay, Mr Thomas, and his sister Brogan, 17.

Superintendent Nav Malik, from West Mercia Police, appealed to Miss Williams to contact them but feared “she may have come to harm”.

It is unclear whether she ever got into the silver van, which travelled through Oswestry, Rhyl, Chester and Cumbria before arriving in Glasgow.

The van’s course had been tracked by automatic number plate recognition technology.

Supt Malik said: “We think the driver has travelled at some point between Monday afternoon and Tuesday lunchtime. We understand he may have stopped at a truck stop, a truck location overnight, but clearly he ended up in Glasgow.”

He said the man in custody and Miss Williams were “friends, both in terms of meeting in locations frequently and discussing things on social media”.

Supt Malik added: “She was a very nice girl, a former head girl from a local college here, very bright, I understand a bright future ahead of her and it’s very out of character for her, she’s not someone that’s gone missing before.

“She wasn’t due to be taking any exams, she was due to take a driving lesson, her first one, a few days ago and she’s missed that clearly, and she was due to meet her boyfriend for a local concert and she’s missed that.”

Police searching for missing 17-year-old girl Georgia Williams say they are 'gravely concerned'

Police investigating the disappearance of a 17-year-old girl say they are "gravely concerned" about her welfare after her friend was arrested on suspicion of kidnap

By Claire Duffin - Telegraph.co.uk

May 29, 2013

Georgia Williams was last seen at her her family home in Wellington, Shropshire, at 7.30pm on Sunday.

On Wednesday morning, 22-year-old Jamie Reynolds, also from Wellington, was arrested 280 miles away in Glasgow. He was held at a "budget hotel". A car park in the city was also being examined.

Police had tracked a silver Toyota van allegedly being driven by Mr Reynolds from Wellington to Oswestry in Shropshire. It then travelled to Rhyl, Chester, Cumbria and on to Glasgow. It is not known if Georgia travelled with Mr Reynolds.

Superintendent Nav Malik, of West Mercia Police, said her parents were also "understandably devastated". He said Georgia, whose father is a detective constable with West Mercia, was "very bright" and had a "bright future ahead of her".

"At this moment in time, we don't know where Georgia is. We are very anxious to find her," he said.

"We are afraid she may have come to harm.

"I am concerned for Georgia's welfare and am asking for the public's help to try and locate her.

"A police operation has led to the arrest of a man in Glasgow but we have so far not been able to locate Georgia.

"We are keen to hear from anyone who has seen Georgia since Sunday afternoon, or has any information about her whereabouts or movements over the past few days."

Superintendent Malik appealed for information about the silver van, which is believed to have belonged to a relative of Mr Reynolds.

Superintendent Malik added: "I'd also like to make a direct appeal to Georgia to get in touch with us.

"If you hear these appeals, please contact us. You are not in any trouble, we simply wish to make sure you are safe and well."

On Sunday, Georgia told her parents she was going out to visit friends. Police believe she then met up with Mr Reynolds, who is not her boyfriend.

Superintendent Malik said inquiries so far "led them to believe they were together on Sunday night". He said Georgia, who has two sisters, was using her mobile phone up until 8pm on Sunday. "There was a combination of texts and calls, but I cannot say what about," said Superintendent Malik.

The van Mr Reynolds was allegedly driving left Wellington on Monday afternoon.

Georgia was reported missing on Tuesday after her parents made their own inquiries and found she was not staying with friends.

Superintendent Malik said: "They are devastated, absolutely devastated. She is a likeable girl, she has a lot of friends locally and was doing well at college."

She had been due to attend a music concert with her boyfriend this week, and had also missed her first driving lesson, he added.

On the day she was last seen, Georgia told friends on Twitter, the social networking site, that she had "stuff on her mind".

Police said they were aware of the message but were not sure of its significance.

At 10.36am on Sunday she wrote: "Worst nights sleep in ages. £needsleep £stuffonmind now can't get back to sleep."

The day before she had written about the Champions League final, commenting on Arjen Robben's late winner.

In January, she had exchanged messages with Mr Reynolds on Facebook and he had posted pictures of them together in a pub.

He asked he if she would like to do a photo shoot. The last time they posted messages to each other on the website was on May 5 when Georgia said: "Go home Jamie, you're drunk."

On Wednesday afternoon, police officers stood guard outside Mr Reynold's home. He is believed to be a sales assistant.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "I knew Jamie, he was a nice enough lad.

"There were lots of police at the house last night and forensic teams took bags of stuff from his home which looked like clothes."

Georgia is white, 5ft 3ins and of slim build. When she was last seen she was wearing a black leather jacket, skinny black jeans and white T-shirt.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact West Mercia Police on 101 or 0300 333 3000.