The families of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, who were killed in Thailand, have called for people to reserve judgment until the end of what they hope will be a 'fair and transparent' murder trial.

Two Burmese men have been charged with the murders of Hannah, 23, from Hemsby and fellow tourist David Miller, 24, from Jersey, in Thailand in September.

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 21, are accused of killing the two on the island of Koh Tao, off the east coast of Thailand.

Hannah, 23, a University of East Anglia graduate, was murdered alongside David from Jersey, 24, on September 15.

Both men were arrested two months ago and initially confessed, but later retracted the confession, saying they had been tortured. They are also accused of rape and robbery.

In a statement released via police, Hannah's family said they had met with UK detectives who travelled to Thailand last month to review the case.

They said: 'There is a great deal of detail and vast areas of investigative work which has been shared with us. We respect the need for such detail not to be shared publicly before Royal Thai Police start their trial process.

'We would like to stress that as a family we are confident in the work that has been carried out into these atrocious crimes.

'Our thoughts, as always, are with the Miller family. Together we stand united and focused on seeing a fair and transparent trial process to bring about justice for our beautiful children.'

David's family Ian, Sue and Michael Miller said: 'We would like to express our relief that progress is being made in Thailand and this case is finally coming to court.

'The support for the Myanmar suspects has been strong and vocal, but please do not jump to conclusions until you have considered the evidence from both sides in full.

'From what we have seen, the suspects have a difficult case to answer. The evidence against them appears to be powerful and convincing.'