THE family of a Woodford Bridge woman believed to have been eaten by her boyfriend in Spain say they cannot find closure' despite his admission that he killed her.

Paul Durant, 44, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Karen Durrell, who lived in Emsworth Road, near Repton Park in Woodford Bridge, at a hearing in Alicante yesterday.

When arrested in 2004, Durant confessed to killing the 41-year-old mother-of-two with a mallet and depositing her remains in a rubbish bag.

But at Thursday's hearing Durant said that although he had left Ms Durrell's body at her home in the holiday resort of Calpe, near Benidorm in Spain, he had not cut up or disposed of her body parts.

He said he had beat Ms Durrell but had not intended to kill her. He faces up to 12 years and nine months in prison.

In a statement issued through police, Ms Durrell's parents Dave and Carol Wood, who travelled to Alicante for the hearing, said they remained unable to move on with their lives.

They said: "For us as a family these past four years have obviously been incredibly difficult. Words cannot express how much we miss Karen, who was a much loved daughter, mum, sister and friend.

"Not knowing exactly what happened to Karen adds to our pain still further. We draw little comfort from the conclusion of today's proceedings and, as a family, cannot find closure or move on with our lives at this time."

Ms Durrell moved to Spain in January 2004 to start a new life but within weeks she was dead, the only trace of her left on bloodstained knives found in her flat in the holiday hotspot of Calpe.

Durant, a convicted armed robber and fugitive from justice, was arrested by Spanish authorities in March, 2004.

He then wrote to a British national newspaper confessing he was a cannibal who had killed and eaten Ms Durrell after God sent her to him.

He wrote: "I believed God had delivered her to me and I was getting messages from the telly.

"After I killed her, I cut her body into small parts, eating what parts of her I found eatable.

"I finally disposed of what was left in small rubbish bags."

Durant had escaped from British police custody in December, 2003, while at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel following arrest on suspicion of armed robbery.