Vigil for murdered Nikki Allan

A vigil was held to mark 21 years since the murder of a schoolgirl in Sunderland. Nikki Allan was seven years old, when she was found beaten and stabbed, yards from her home.

Friends and relatives gathered where her body was discovered, and brought pink roses to lay on her grave.

Sunderland reporter Julia Barthram reports.

A crowd at a vigil in memory of a murdered schoolgirl moved to a building nearby where the Justice for Nikki Allan slogan is painted on the wall. Many of the 100 mourners were wearing pink in her memory. Pink roses brought to the vigil will be taken and laid on Nikki's grave.

Nikki Allan's mother Sharon Henderson said she was still fighting for justice, 21 years after her daughter's murder. The 7-year-old schoolgirl was only metres from home, when she was stabbed and beaten, and her body left in a derelict warehouse.

Her family and friends marked the anniversary with a vigil in Sunderland.

Watch more: TV appeal over 1992 murder

Around 100 people, many dressed in pink, have gathered outside the Exchange Building in Sunderland to mark 21 years since 7-year-old Nikki Allan was stabbed and beaten to death outside her home.

The child's body was left in a derelict warehouse. Her mother Sharon Henderson led mourners at the vigil to mark the anniversary.