PAEDOPHILE Mark Bridger has joined a group of notorious offenders given whole life sentences for their horrific crimes following his conviction for the abduction and murder of five-year-old April Jones.

Bridger, 47, became the 48th offender in England and Wales to be given a whole life sentence –joining the ranks of notorious offenders such as Ian Brady, Myra Hindley and club bouncer Levi Bellfield – after kidnapping the schoolgirl, sexually abusing her and then disposing of her body in a place still unknown.

Last night, April's parents – Paul, 41, and Coral, 43 – who spoke of their relief at the conviction, were coming to terms with the fact Bridger may never reveal what he did with their daughter's body.

Mrs Jones, speaking outside court, said: "We are relieved Mark Bridger has today been found guilty of the murder of our beautiful daughter April, however, we still do not know where she is, and this will always be a very painful thing for us to deal with."

Following his conviction, calls were made for greater controls of pornography, with children's charity NSPCC claiming the case offered more evidence of a link between extreme sexual images and sexual offences.

In a file on his laptop marked "Z0", Bridger, a former slaughterhouse worker, held cartoon images of child abuse as well as images of apparently dead youngsters.

Sentencing, Mr Justice Griffith Williams said: "There is no doubt in my mind that you are a paedophile, who has for some time harboured sexual and morbid fantasies about young girls."

He said Bridger abducted April for a sexual purpose after he had been jilted by his girlfriend and then murdered the schoolgirl and disposed of her body to "hide the evidence of your sexual abuse of her".

The judge said: "How you disposed of her body must remain a mystery.

"It will serve no purpose for me to speculate as to what happened, but all the indications are that you burnt at least a part of her in the wood burner."

Police believe Bridger dismembered the body before dumping parts in the hills, rivers and forests surrounding his home in Ceinws, mid-Wales, after traces of her blood were found throughout his rented cottage.

The judge continued: "Without the knowledge of what happened to April, her parents will probably never come to terms with their grievous loss, described so eloquently in the impact statement. It is to be hoped, for their sakes ... and for the sakes of all those who mourn April, that the verdicts will bring some measure of closure."

As the sentence was handed down Bridger nodded when he was told he would spend the rest of his life behind bars, but shook his head when the judge described him as a paedophile.

In a statement, Ed Beltrami, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Wales, paid tribute to the prosecution's key witness, a seven-year-old girl who saw April getting into Bridger's Land Rover, and said her parents "should be very proud of her".

The trial, which began on April 30, was told Bridger was a fantasist who told police he was an SAS-trained mercenary but was, in fact, a former abattoir worker and a failed firefighter.

Phillip Noyes, acting chief executive of the NSPCC, said April's case adds to growing evidence that there is a link between child and extreme porn, and committing other serious sexual assaults.

He said: "This case points to the ever-growing evidence there is a worrying link between looking at this vile kind of material and committing other serious sexual assaults.

"April's death will hopefully lead to effective measures to stamp out this vile trade."