The family of the murdered schoolgirl, Sarah Payne, called last night for children to be protected, after an emotional visit to the flowers left beside the spot in southern England where the child's body was found.
Her mother, Mrs Sara Payne (31), sobbed uncontrollably as she clung to her husband, Michael, beside the sea of tributes at the roadside near Pulborough, West Sussex, just yards from where the eight-year-old's naked body was found last week.
Mr Payne (also 31) said: "Everybody in the nation's on to this and we have got to keep on to this. We can't let things like this happen, not to children."
He added: "It's something we have to do. We have to keep coming back here to be close to where she was."
The visit came after it emerged that a man arrested in connection with Sarah's abduction had been charged with stealing a car.
The man, aged 41, from Littlehampton, but of no fixed abode, was arrested after a police chase through Crawley, West Sussex, on Sunday.
He has appeared before Crawley magistrates charged with theft, assault and aggravated taking of a vehicle and has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance next Monday.
Police stress that no one has yet been arrested in connection with Sarah's murder.
The search for her dress, shoe and underwear was continuing yesterday in the hope they could hold a vital DNA clue, but officers said the search had been "scaled back".
Officers filled more than eight bags with toys and dolls from the roadside shrine at the request of the Payne family, to protect the mementos from the weather.
It is understood they may be used in a memorial service for Sarah which her family hope will be held in Guildford Cathedral.
The Paynes picked up messages of support during their visit to the blanket of flowers yesterday. They were joined by their children, Lee (13), Luke (11), Charlotte (6), Mr Payne's father, Mr Terry Payne, stepmother, Lesley, and Mrs Payne's sister, Mrs Fiona Crook, her husband, Mr Andrew Crook, and their two-year-old daughter.
Mrs Payne said the visits were helping the whole family as they struggled to come to terms with Sarah's death.
The family left flowers and spoke to well-wishers, and Charlotte took a large fluffy toy dog from the 80-metre bank of flowers.
A message pinned to a bouquet left by Sarah's grandfather, Mr Terry Payne, read: "Not in body but still in spirit. Granddad."
Sarah disappeared from a country lane near her grandparents' house in East Preston, West Sussex, on the evening of July 1st. A second post-mortem examination on her body is due to be carried out this week to ascertain the exact cause of death, believed to be strangulation or suffocation.