Mothers of murdered Olivia Pratt-Korbel and Ashley Dale say Christmas 'will never be the same'

ITV Granada Reports' Ann O'Conner spoke to the families of Ashley Dale and Olivia Pratt-Korbel at a screening of a short film aiming to encourage children to steer clear of gangs.

Two mothers are preparing for a second Christmas without their daughters after both were murdered within days of each other in a wave of gun and gang crime.

Ashley Dale, 28, and nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel were both shot in Liverpool in August 2022, resulting in a crackdown in gun and gang violence that saw a reduction in crime and an increase in community tip-offs.

Two years on from the shooting of Ashley Dale in Old Swan her mother, Julie Dale, says her death "changes everything about your life".

She said: "[Christmas] isn't like the happy event it would have been, but I've still got two little girls that keep us going. We still want to have Christmas for them.

"I have to just paint a smile on and pretend everything's okay for them because they didn't ask for this to happen."

Following a seven-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court, a jury found James Witham, Sean Zeisz, Niall Barry and Joseph Peers guilty of the murder of Ashley, after she was fatally shot in her home in Leinster Road in Old Swan, Liverpool on 21 August 2022.

Less than 24 hours after her death, Thomas Cashman, 34, fired through the front door of Olivia's family home in Dovecot, killing the schoolgirl.

For Olivia's mother Cheryl Korbel, who was also injured during the attack, Christmas "will never be the same".

She said: "It's going to be hard... It was only monday I got the tree out and that's as far as I've got.

"It's devastated the family because we haven't got Olivia there anymore. As much as we talk about her day in day out life's just not the same."

The two mother's attended a screening of a new short film commissioned by Operation EVOLVE, a multi-agency tactic between Merseyside Police and the Home Office to crack down on gangs and support community projects that prevent young people from getting involved with criminal groups.

More than 120 children were invited to the screening at the Odeon Cinema in Liverpool One to watch the film, which features spoken word artist Joseph Roberts delivering a poem about the dangers of joining a criminal gang.

Both Cheryl and Julie appear in the film alongside the families of Elle Edwards and Sam Rimmer, who were also victims of gun crime in 2022.

Julie said: "The poem was really powerful. I could have watched it before but I wanted to see it on the big screen. I hope the children go home and think about those words.

"These children would have seen our stories on the news over the years but we're more than just stories. We're a family."

Some of the children at the screening were Year 6 pupils from St Margaret Mary's in Huyton, where Olivia went to school.

Her mother Cheryl said: "They're getting to that age where they're going into senior school so it's really important.

"I know the teachers very well so it was lovely to catch up with them."

Deputy Chief Constable Chris Green, who spoke at the event, said: “Tackling serious and organised crime is a priority for the Force and today’s event is one of many initiatives we are undertaking with our partners to try to prevent young people from joining or being exploited by gangs, to safeguard those who are vulnerable and to help make our communities safer for all.

“We want to increase awareness among young people about exploitation and the dangers of getting involved in drug-related and gang-related activity."

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