Woman shot by crossbow killer near Driffield calls for shotgun-style regulation on the weapons

A woman who survived a crossbow attack that killed her partner is calling for licensing laws to be introduced on the weapon and urging people to respond to a new 'call for evidence' from the Home Office.

Laura Sugden and Shane Gilmer were attacked by their neighbour, Anthony Lawrence, in January 2018 when he broke into their home in East Yorkshire via the loft and shot them both with a crossbow.

He attacked the couple after he was served an eviction notice because they had complained about a smell of cannabis coming from his home.

Ms Sugden, who was pregnant at the time of the attack, was also stabbed in the neck at the house in Southburn, near Driffield.

She said that Shane risked his life so that she and their unborn daughter could live.

The couple were taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, but Mr Gilmer, who had managed to tell 999 operators what happened to him, died on arrival.

Lawrence was found dead two days later in a lay-by in the North York Moors.

At an inquest in 2021, Shane was found to have been killed unlawfully, with the coroner saying that he would write to the Home Secretary about his concerns regarding crossbow sales.

Speaking after the inquest, Ms Sugden said it was "unbelievable" that the sale and ownership of such a "lethal" and "medieval" weapon remains unregulated.

"There are no laws in place to help prevent crossbows from falling into the hands of twisted and dangerous individuals like Anthony Lawrence," she said.

Ms Sugden and her legal team launched a campaign in 2021 to change the law around crossbow sales so that they are more similar to gun ownership laws.

It gathered more than 42,000 signatures, but fell short of the threshold to be considered for debate in parliament.

The Home Office response at the time said: "Crossbows are subject to statutory controls. Legislation is already in place to deal with those who use crossbows as a weapon. The Government has no plans to legislate further at this time."

Six years on from the attack, Ms Sugden said she would "probably never" move on from it.

"I still think about it everyday and I probably always will," she said.

Her daughter Ella, who she was pregnant with at the time, is now five years old, but has never known her father.

She said: "She is very, very, very similar [to Shane], not just in her looks but in her personality, which is obviously a huge comfort to me... but sometimes that can be hard as well."

The pace of change has been frustratingly slow for her, but with the fresh call for evidence from the Home Office on Wednesday, she is hopeful something might be done.

"My opinion would always be that police control needs to be involved," said Ms Sugden.

The Home Office call for evidence follows a high-profile incident in which a man broke into Buckingham Palace with a loaded crossbow on Christmas Day in 2021.

Jaswant Singh Chail was jailed for nine years - with five more on extended licence - in October last year after pleading guilty to treason.

Announcing the move, safeguarding minister Laura Farris said crossbows were "used rarely" in violent crime but they can be "highly dangerous". 

"We’re doing all we can to ensure we have the appropriate measures in place against any risks these potentially dangerous weapons may pose," she said.

"I encourage the public and those in the industry to come forward to share their views so we can have the most accurate picture and take any necessary action to keep our streets safe."

Under current laws, anybody over the age of 18 is legally allowed to purchase or possess a crossbow of any power rating, something Ms Sugden says is "terrifying" and wants changed to introduce licensing laws similar to those around gun ownership.

"You can't go out and buy a shotgun like that," she said. "To me, crossbows are just as lethal.

"If nobody puts a stop to that, or puts some legislation surrounding it, then there's going to be more people losing their lives."

"It blows my mind that still now, that can still happen."

Ms Sugden said she "naively" thought changing a law could be quite quick when she first started her campaign.

"It's a fight - I just feel like its something that should be so easy to change," she said.

Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Evison supports her campaign.

"My opinion very much is that [crossbow ownership] needs licensing, we need control of this - they are deadly," he said.

"There's an estimate of over 200,000 crossbows in the UK, but nobody knows.

"We need the facts, and from the facts we can hopefully draw up some legislation to control them in some way."

While Ms Sugden would support a total ban, she says thinks that is "absolutely unachievable", but in trying to change the law to some extent she is honouring Shane's memory.

"I know Shane would have done exactly the same thing," she said. "It's not that I have to do it, it's that I want to do it.

"I'm so thankful to him that he told me to leave that house on that night.

"[Changing the law] is kind of like the one thing that I can do for him."

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