The father of murdered student Sara Cameron is making an emotional trip to the city where she was studying to collect her degree today.

Finnish-born Sara, 23, was murdered while making her way home on Good Friday last year after taking a Metro train from Newcastle city centre to a station near her home in Whitley Bay.

Despite DNA tests on thousands of men in the area her killer is still at large.

Her 62-year-old father Roy Cameron is travelling from his home in Devon to collect the degree in European sports management that his daughter should have been picking up at a ceremony in Newcastle City Hall this afternoon.

University of Northumbria bosses decided to posthumously award the degree in memory of the student as well as creating an award in her name for students showing exceptional attitude and motivation.

Speaking before today's ceremony, Mr Cameron said: ''I'm expecting it to be pretty traumatic.

''It should have been one of the proudest days of our life but it will be filled with sadness.

Sara's body was discovered at the side of a road running towards the village of Earsdon, near Whitley Bay, where she was living.

Police have since taken 3,465 swabs from local men and eliminated almost 3,000 of them from the manhunt.

Updated: 13.40 Friday, July 20