A woman who was molested as a schoolgirl by Soham child killer Ian Huntley spoke yesterday of her "massive sense of relief" after winning her fight for justice.

Hailey Giblin, 21, was sexually assaulted by Huntley when she was 11, but he was not prosecuted and went on to kill Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Ms Giblin brought a civil case against Huntley, who initially denied the attack in Cleethorpes in 1997 but then reversed his plea from his prison cell.

At a hearing yesterday at Manchester County Court, District Judge Dick Fairclough was formally told of Huntley's confession.

Speaking afterwards, Ms Giblin, supported by her husband, Colin, 40, said: "I feel a massive sense of relief that Ian Huntley has admitted that in the summer of 1997 he took me, an innocent 11-year-old little girl, from the sanctity of my street to an orchard where I was subject to the most horrific sexual attack at his hands, yet I still feel upset that Huntley was left at large, resulting in the deaths of two innocent children."

Ms Giblin, who is now suing social services over her care after the attack, added: "I hope that my story will inspire countless other victims of abuse to not be ignored and simply be a statistic of a rape or abuse.

"I now have a Judgment by Admission awarded to me against Ian Huntley and, although it is of no monetary value, to me it is priceless."

Ms Giblin, from Barton-upon-Humber, north Lincolnshire, added: "I feel I wasn't just the victim of Ian Huntley but also a victim of social services and Humberside Police."