The house in which murdered Tia Sharp's decomposing body lay undiscovered for a week is to be bulldozed as soon as possible, Croydon Council has confirmed.

Two neighbouring homes in The Lindens, New Addington, will also be demolished and replaced with new family houses in the hope of removing the stigma of the site of the 12-year-old's horrific death.

The council fears it would struggle to find new tenants willing the occupy the house Stuart Hazell shared with Tia's grandmother Christine Bicknell.

Hazell murdered Tia in the house, number 20, where he also posed Tia's dead body for a pornographic photo on her bed before hiding her in the loft.

A council spokesman said: "It is our intention to demolish the properties at 19, 20 and 21, The Lindens, New Addington, as soon as we can following the trial.

"We then plan to build family homes in their place.

"There will inevitably be some disruption to neighbours during the demolition and building works, but we will aim to keep this to a minimum. We are contacting residents to inform them of these plans."

Paul Rowland, 44, who lives metres away from Hazell's house: "I don't think it will make much difference if they pull them down or just leave them, because I don't know if anyone will want to live there anyway."

Elizabeth Leigh, 80, who lives in The Lindens, said: "I think it is a waste. It will cost the council a lot. But they say that people will not want to move into the house where the poor little girl was murdered."

An elderly neighbour, who declined to give her name, said: "It was inevitable it would happen because it was a child murder. Who would want to move in there now? It is for the best."

Paul Meehan, who lived next door to Hazell, will stand trial next month for allegedly supplying false information to the police as they searched for Tia.

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