The parents of a missing schoolgirl feared "minced into kebab meat" have refused to let taunting locals run them out of town.
Charlene Downes was just 14 when she disappeared from her home near Blackpool without a trace in November 2003.
It was feared that she had been" murdered and minced into kebab meat" by men who'd been sexually abusing her.
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Prosecutors claimed her body was cut up and minced into kebabs and her bones crushed into tile grouting when a local takeaway owner stood trial in 2007, as jurors were played taped conversations in which it was alleged the owner had done so.
However, a verdict was never reached and a retrial was dropped.
Now, almost 20 years since her disappearance, her parents Bob and Karen Downes have now opened up about being mercilessly trolled and face daily abuse in the Lancashire resort.
Bob, 61, says he’s faced hostile treatment from locals after it emerged convicted sex offender Ray Munro was staying at the Downes’ home when Charlene vanished.
He claims that he only found out about that his “friend” had pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting children three days after Charlene went missing.
But he says some people will “put down their drinks in protest” when he walks into some pubs in town.
He has also been told to “get out of Blackpool”.
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Mr Downes said: “Why should I run? Why should I hide? Why should I change my identity?”
“I can mix with anybody – I didn’t know that they were [paedophiles].
“They don’t walk around with a plaque saying what they are.
“They’re not going to advertise the fact, are they?”
His wife has also revealed that one of her daughters had moved away from the seaside town because she “couldn’t take” the constant taunts from locals.
And she revealed she has also faced verbal abuse for accepting support from the British National Party.
The far-right group funded a memorial plaque for Charlene in 2011, which Karen says she was 'very grateful' for, but now says now people unfairly brand her a racist.
But all hope is not lost for the family, after a unit led by Dr Kirsty Bennett, a lecturer at Leeds Trinity University, began looking into Charlene's cold case with the couple in July.
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She will work with Ronay Crompton, from the Justice for Charlene Downes campaign, and they hope to find "new evidence" about the teen's disappearance.
Mr Crompton said: “Charlene was failed by everyone that should have kept her safe.
“The police, social services, they all let her down.
“We’re trying to build a legacy and fight for real justice for her, so she can be remembered for something positive.”
Lancashire Police has been contacted for comment.
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