The grandfather of a Canadian teenager who was stabbed while visiting her boyfriend in the UK says he has been left ‘devastated’ by her death after ‘encouraging her to go’. 

Jeff Wadsworth, 66, thought Ashley Wadsworth would have ‘the time of her life’ when she moved from Vernon, British Columbia, last November. 

He said the family felt reassured because England is such a ‘safe place’, only to be given the terrible news she had died during a ‘disturbance’ at an address in Essex just months later, on February 1. 

Her boyfriend, Jack Sepple, 23, from Chelmsford, Essex, has been charged with her murder. 

Speaking to DailyMail.com, Mr Wadsworth said: ‘We’re just devastated. I can’t believe it. I encouraged her to go – I thought it was going to be the time of her life. 

‘I never thought something like this would happen in England – I thought it was the safest place in the world. And it is a safe place – this is such a not normal thing.’ 

He described how his granddaughter moved to England on November 12 to ‘escape small-town life’ and went to live with Sepple. 

The pair, who met on a dating app, were pictured visiting landmarks in London. 

Ms Wadsworth’s family have since set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for her parents’ travel costs and the expense of repatriating her body. 

That process has been delayed pending a second autopsy, Ms Wadsworth’s cousin told the Mail. 

Mr Wadsworth paid tribute to the sport-loving teenager, saying she was ‘a sweetheart’ who ‘very smart’ and ‘had a great attitude’. 

Her parents were too upset to speak, but Ms Wadsworth’s sister Hailey said: ‘This has been terrible. I’m so distraught. I’m lost. It feels like a piece of me is missing.’ 

Other relatives posted tributes to the teenager on Facebook, including great aunt Tova Wadsworth, who wrote: ‘Ashley was a beautiful young lady and full of love and kindness for all in her life. 

‘This was a trip of a lifetime… Nothing of this makes any sense. Her family is heartbroken and struggles to understand.’ 

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