THE father of murdered British backpacker Caroline Stuttle yesterday urged other worried parents not to stand in the way of teenagers travelling the world.

Artist Alan Stuttle is selling his York art gallery and plans to travel to Australia to paint some of the scenes that Caroline described in her emails.

The 19-year-old is thought to have been robbed and then thrown from a 65ft bridge in the Bundaberg, Queensland, last month.

Mr Stuttle, 63, of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, told Radio Four's Woman's Hour: "We had our dreams, Caroline was following hers."

He urged other parents to allow their sons and daughters to travel, revealing that his son Richard, 24, plans to go to New Zealand.

"I said to him ... 'Caroline would have wanted you to go'," he said. "Let them go for it. The parents should encourage them to develop what they want to do."

He said that he intends to visit Bundaberg and speak to those who met Caroline.

"It had always been her dream to go to Australia. I saw her the day before she went and it was rather an emotional farewell," he said. "I gave her a hug and told her I loved her very much.

"I was so proud of her."