THE father of a toddler snatched from a Primark store in Newcastle city centre by two teenagers says their lack of remorse has made it very difficult to forgive them.

The two girls, aged just 13 and 14, were sentenced to three years and three months' detention after they used sweets to entice the child out of the shop.

They had already unsuccessfully tried to trick another little girl's mother and police went on to find troubling internet searches about rape and exploitation on a tablet computer.

Both had tried to claim that they abducted the two-year-old in April from the Northumberland Street store following pressure from a third party. But police found there was no evidence of anyone else being involved in the kidnap which resulted in the little girl coming to no harm.

Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain to Denise Fergus, the mother of James Bulger, the father said: "I think my life came to an end, our daughter is the essence of why you want to live and why you want to carry on in life.

"There's also the feeling of guilt as you're meant to be there for them, you're meant to protect them.

"You try not to be suspicious of strangers but unfortunately you are forced to be in a way, you can never be too cautious and you can never be over protective of your child.

"I would have forgiven them if they had come clean, but not showing any remorse makes it very difficult to forgive."

During the case, Newcastle Crown Court heard that the younger of the defendants had been groomed by an unknown man and swapped sexual messages on the chat site ooVoo.

Mr Justice Globe, who was a junior counsel in the prosecution of the Bulger case, said the toddler had been at risk of serious harm.