'Every day is difficult' says Ashley Dale's mum four years on

The mother of a woman shot dead by a gunman who was targeting her boyfriend has told how "every day is difficult", four years on.

Ashley Dale, 28, was murdered on 21 August 2022 when James Witham burst into her Liverpool home and began firing a Skorpion sub-machine in search of her partner, in a drugs feud.

Her mum, Julie Dale, said: "August is a difficult time for us but I just think every day is difficult."

She said it was tough to see her other two daughters reaching milestones such as leaving school and celebrating proms, adding: "You want to be happy but you're also really sad and the girls are sad their big sister's not here as well, to see their big milestones in their lives as well."

Witham was ordered to serve a minimum term of 43 years following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

His accomplices Niall Barry, 26, Sean Zeisz, 28, and Joseph Peers, 29, were ordered to serve prison sentences of at least 47, 42 and 41 years respectively.

Julie said for the past few years she had been working with Knowsley Council - where her daughter worked as an environmental health officer - on the Be the Change scheme.

This involves going into schools to talk to young girls aged from 12 to 16 about the dangers of making poor relationship choices, "because we all know Ashley made a really bad choice of relationship, which ultimately ended her life".

Dale said she also spoke to the girls about friendship choices too "because it is very, very important that choices you make now could shape your life for your whole future".

She said getting justice for Ashley "massively helped us as a family… because that's a door that you can close and you can start to move away from that".

Julie said that having the support of fellow parents who had also lost children to gun crime had really helped her, adding "we help each other loads".

Four years after a series of tragic shootings in Merseyside, the bereaved families of Ashley Dale, Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Sam Rimmer and Elle Edwards are backing a free new educational resource to help prevent more young lives being lost to violence.

Sam Rimmer was 22 when he was shot while standing with friends on Lavrock Bank, Dingle, on 16 August 2022.

Five days later, Ashley Dale was killed in Old Swan and, the following day, nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was fatally shot in Dovecot.

Elle Edwards was also fatally shot outside the Lighthouse Pub in Wallasey on Christmas Eve that year.

The Dear Merseyside guided classroom resources are designed to encourage young people in schools to have discussions about the devastating impact of violence, recognising criminal exploitation and making positive life choices, Merseyside Police said.

Julie said it was "very important that people speak up" about gun crime, adding that she understood people were scared to do so "but if you're in our situation, just put yourself in our shoes and think about what it would do to you or your family".

Being part of a support group with others who have lost loved ones to gun crime had also helped her, she added, saying "we get what each other are going through" and "we just we help each other loads".

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