CHILDREN and staff at Leigh CE Junior School remembered their murdered school friend, Lauren Pilkington-Smith, at a special service on Thursday morning.

Head Brian Fawcett said: "We invited all members of the school community to join with us for a short service to commemorate and celebrate Lauren's life and her time here at the school.

"For the future we have begun to discuss plans for a permanent memorial to Lauren and members of her year group have already provided us with some excellent suggestions.

"There are a number of other end of year celebrations going on in school this week, including our school play. We have spoken to Lauren's parents and they have given their blessing for these to continue. They believe it is what Lauren would have wanted."

An 18-year-old has been arrested by detectives investigating the murder.

Officers arrested the teenager at 8am on Wednesday. He is being quizzed by murder squad detectives.

Lauren was found battered to death in woodland near her home in Leigh last Friday after she had been reported missing.

The youth was arrested at his home in Leigh and is being questioned at Pendleton police station, Salford.

Officers are still trying to trace Lauren's final movements.

Lauren's body was found in woodland less than 200 yards from her home in Twist Lane, Leigh, by her grandfather, Barrie Smith, at 2.30am last Friday.

A post-mortem examination revealed her attacker hit her repeatedly over the head with a blunt object.

Detectives have revealed that she tried to protect herself with her hands and arms as blows rained down on her head.

A search of land at the end of Sanderson Street, Leigh, where her body was found, is being carried out as police hunt for the murder weapon and forensic clues.

Forensic tests are being carried out on clothing and police say the results will prove crucial in solving the murder.

The "tomboy", who enjoyed football and riding her BMX bike, has visited her new school, Bedford High, the day before she was killed.

A search was launched for Lauren after she failed to come home from playing with friends the previous evening.

Police believe she was last seen at 8pm last Thursday playing cricket with two boys.

They have appealed for the youngsters to come forward.

Police say the attacker would have been left heavily blood soaked after the attack.

Supt Shaun Currie described the killing as the worst he had dealt with in 25 years of policing.

"We are talking about the death of a little girl who had been out enjoying the sunshine with friends and doing the things that 10-year-old girls do," he said.

"Her parents were expecting her to come home but she never did.

"We have got a team of detectives working night and day to catch whoever was responsible."

The area where the body was found is still sealed off while police continue forensic examinations to find clues and officers carry out a painstaking search to find the weapon.

The first boy Lauren was seen playing cricket with is described as white, about nine or ten years old and may have been wearing dark clothing.

The other boy is thought to have been white, slightly bigger and about 14 or 15 years old.

He is also thought to have been wearing dark clothing and may have been wearing a hooded top or cap.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the incident room at Leigh on 0161 856 7351 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.