The agony over, the grief begins as police confirm the awful truth

He could barely have been out of his teens. Clad in a T-shirt and jeans, he had the type of short, spiky hair that would have elicited disapproval from his grandmother. But yesterday he was among the hundreds who gathered to remember Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

He did not cry openly, bending his head to pinch away the tears before they could escape.

Just two weeks ago, the elderly parishioners of St Andrew's Church would have had a thing or two to say about the small town's bored youths and the Friday night rowdiness they inflict upon Soham every week. But yesterday young and old stood side by side in the packed Norman church. The normal congregation of 50 was swollen by every age group. Dotted throughout were small girls dressed in their Sunday best – a sharp reminder of the two who were missing.

Ten hours later, police finally confirmed the bleakest fact of all. Keith Hoddy, the Deputy Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire, said detectives were "as certain as we possibly can be" that Jessica and Holly had been found dead. Shortly afterwards, an ambulance was due to transport them from the Suffolk woodland where they were found on Saturday afternoon to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge for a post-mortem examination. Police said the victims might not be formally identified for days.

The families of both girls emerged from their grief to release statements through the police offering thanks for the support of others and make a plea for privacy. Holly's parents, Nicola and Kevin Wells, spoke of feeling "numb" at the loss of their gorgeous daughter.

It was a sensation evident throughout their home town of Soham. At St Andrew's Church there were not enough pews or hymn books to go round the 600 people who filed slowly into the church at 8am, accompanied by the steady tone of a single mournful bell. Others were left outside in the rain, unable to find space.

Last week all eyes were on Holly's and Jessica's parents as the church prayed for the girls' safe return. The parents' absence from yesterday's service was the single most poignant indicator that their daughters were most probably gone.

The Rev Tim Alban Jones, the vicar, said: "Only one week ago we could not have thought that we would be sitting here this morning facing the worst-case scenario. In spite of all our hopes and prayers, this is what we have all been fearing and we now are staring in the face the outcome which we were most dreading.'' As he spoke, a thunderclap outside was followed by the sound of pounding rain, bringing relief from the smothering heat but not from the suffocating emotions that engulfed the church.

Even before the confirmation that the girls found in a desolate wooded spot 10 miles away were Holly and Jessica, despair had set in. The small market town, which for a fortnight had held on to the belief that the 10-year-olds would return, was finally beginning to relinquish its grip – albeit reluctantly. No one could yet bring themselves to take down the posters appealing for the girls' safe return. But a cluster of candles, initially placed as a hopeful gesture around pictures of the children, was now being referred to as a shrine.

Stunned and disbelieving, the people of Soham stood silently staring into the distance throughout the service. Their thoughts, however, were voiced in cards attached to flowers and soft toys outside the church.

"Soham's heart is broken,'' said one. Another read: "Jessica and Holly. May you play together in Heaven.''

''We weep for you. Society should weep. We have hit an all-time low,'' read another.

The prayers had but one theme yesterday, ending: "Lord grant peace to Holly and Jessica, comfort to their parents and strength to us all.''

Mr Alban Jones continued: "There are scarcely words available to sum up our sense of disbelief that this is all happening here in Soham. These two lovely girls have been our first thought in the morning and our last thought every night.''

He added: "The whole town feels in some way violated by the disappearance of Jessica and Holly. All of us are profoundly affected by the latest development.''

A reading from St Matthew's gospel, chosen long before events overtook it, contained the sadly appropriate phrase "from out of the heart come evil intentions, murder ..."

"Sadly we in Soham know all too well an appalling example of the depravity to which humans can sink, but we have also witnessed the other side of that coin of human action and behaviour. We have seen the enormous dignity and courage of the parents, we have seen an outpouring of collective support, and we have seen the diligence and determination of the police,'' the vicar added.

Quietly at the end of the service Detective Chief Inspector Andy Hebb, who has been the public face of the investigation, slipped into the church to pay his respects in a show of solidarity.

During yesterday's service a brief moment was taken to read out wedding banns for two couples – a sign that, whatever the people of Soham feel now, life must go on.

Now they will have to contend with the automatic and over-simplified assumption that its name – like Dunblane and Hungerford before – will for ever be linked with an unspeakable tragedy.

It will be a further injustice to a community that deserves to be remembered for how well it has coped.

In the words of its vicar, Soham "is an ancient settlement with a long, distinguished history and it doesn't deserve to be known only as the place this dreadful thing happened".