The daughter of the Soham killer, Ian Huntley, has disclosed she only found out the true identity of her father after being given a school project on the murderer.

Aged 14, Samantha Bryan was in a citizenship class when she discovered her natural father was Huntley, who was jailed for life for murdering the 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002.

Instructed to research "notorious crimes" connected to the Grimsby area, Miss Bryan, of Cleethorpes, Lincs, was given a list of names and found a photograph of herself and her mother on Google in relation to the murder, the Mail on Sunday reports.

“It was like being thumped in the chest,” Miss Bryan told the newspaper. “I began to shake, I couldn't stop the tears.”

Miss Bryan was four years old at the time of the murder but never met her biological father. According to the Mail on Sunday, her mother, Katie Bryan, met Mr Huntley aged 15 and left him during pregnancy, following abusive physical attacks and rape. She then married Martin Bryan, whom Miss Bryan calls "Dad".