Ryan Dilley BBC News Online in Soham

After a nightmarish two weeks, the residents of Soham are slowly waking up to the possibility that Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman might never come home safe.

The people of Soham still follow their Saturday morning ritual of going for a newspaper - even though today the latest editions are hopelessly out of date.

Hours after the papers went to press saying the search for Jessica and Holly was still on, police arrested two local people on suspicion of murdering the girls.

"I think we all still felt a little bit hopeful last night," says Peggy Leonard, "even if as time went on, we feared things wouldn't end as we had hoped".

Mrs Leonard says the girls' disappearance has been the main topic of conversation in Soham, but before now no one had dared say the girls might be dead.

"We've been taking our lead from the parents. They've been so positive and so brave."

Refusal to believe

But some still refuse to think the very worst and cling to the fact that no bodies have yet been found.

"While they're still missing, we can't say that they aren't coming back," says Gary Prigg crossing the road near Soham's war memorial, where floral tributes to the girls are already being laid.

Candles have been lit for the girls

"May you be safe wherever you are," says a card attached to a freshly placed bouquet.

Near to the house where police are still searching for clues as to the girls' fate, Charmaine Dean has not yet heard the latest sad twist in the investigation.

"Oh dear," she says, steadying herself against the door frame of her bungalow. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."

Canon Tim Elbourne says the shock in Soham is palpable.

"You can feel the quietness, the sense of foreboding that's been in the background for so long has heightened."

Togetherness

Mr Elbourne thinks local people seem engrossed in their own thoughts. The tragedy has prompted them to bring their families together.

Taking her grandchildren to the shops, one local woman also remarks on the eerie silence in the town on what should be a busy summer day.

"The local children aren't out playing, their parents are bolting them up in their homes."