'She went to school but didn't come home. It hasn't sunk in yet'

THE family of a 15-year-old girl stabbed to death on her way to school spoke today of their heartbreak, revealing that the aspiring lawyer had been robbed of "a great future".

- John Dunne and Anthony France

Eliyanna Andam collapsed after being knifed in the neck with a foot-long blade when she reportedly stepped in to protect a friend during yesterday's morning rush hour in Croydon.

Abus driver and passers-by battled to save the life of the Old Palace of John Whitgift School pupil but she died on the pavement minutes later.

Detectives have been given more time to question a 17-year-old boy over the murder, which they described as "every parent's worst nightmare".

The victim's aunt Marian, who lives half a mile from the crime scene, said: "She went to a private school paid by my sister and had a great future ahead of her. She wanted to be a lawyer. She also loved gymnastics and doing her hair. We are a big family and will support each other. We are devastated.

"We can't comprehend the heartbreak of the last 24 hours. She went to school and didn't come home. It hasn't sunk in. My sister is not feeling good, this is a tragedy." Witnesses said Eliyanna was stabbed after intervening in a heated argument between her friend and the friend's former "boyfriend" near Croydon's Whitgift shopping centre.