'Heartbroken' twin of mother shot dead by partner in Woodmancote calls for gun reform
Emma Ambler, Kelly Fitzgibbons' twin sister, opens up about the campaigning she's doing in honour of her sibling
The twin sister of a woman who was shot dead by her partner in Woodmancote near Chichester in Sussex has spoken to ITV News for the first time about the trauma her family have suffered.
Kelly Fitzgibbons was killed in her home moments after her daughters, Ava and Lexi, were shot by Robert Needham, just days before lockdown began in 2020.
Last week, Kelly’s sister Emma hosted a charity football match at Bosham Football Club between Bosham FC and Chichester FC to keep her sister’s memory alive as well as bring the community together.
Emma and her friends find solace on her memorial bench at Bosham Football Club where, together with Kelly, they spent many happy childhood years.
Kelly's friends and family created the Kelly Fitzgibbons Foundation with the purpose of fighting for tougher gun control laws to prevent a repeat of the tragedy they have endured.
Emma said: "It's been a difficult journey and time and we're learning everyday to live without Kelly and the girls but it's really hard."
Robert Needham claimed he purchased the licence so he could shoot rabbits, but Kelly's stepmother Pam Fitzgibbons said that can't be true: "A gun that will fire six shots, why do you need that to shoot rabbits? You don't.
"No checks were done, and as far as we know he never shot any rabbits. We believe he got that gun for that reason only.
"So if he hadn't of got a firearms licence, it's likely our family would still be alive today."
A spokesman for the Home Office said they would be in touch with the foundation "in due course" to finalise a meeting date.
The spokesman added: "The UK has some of the strictest gun controls in the world, which we keep under constant review to preserve public safety.
"Following the tragic incident in Plymouth in 2021, police forces in England, Scotland and Wales were asked to urgently review their firearms licensing practices, confirming that forces were adhering to the guidance for issuing and reviewing them."