'I was shot by a crossbow killer while I was pregnant'

Laura Sugden speaks out as government prepares to publish review of deadly but easily obtainable weapons after murders of BBC commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters

- TARA COBHAM

A woman whose partner was killed in a crossbow attack – and was herself shot while pregnant – has called for tougher laws in the wake of the murders of BBC racing commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters.

Laura Sugden was 20 weeks into her pregnancy when she and her boyfriend Shane Gilmer were attacked by a crossbowwielding assailant at their family home in east Yorkshire in January 2018.

Mr Gilmer, 30, was fatally wounded in the incident, with Ms Sugden, 34, still recalling the horror of him dying on their landing. The mother-of-two miraculously survived the assault despite being shot in the head. The couple’s baby also survived, and Ella is now six years old but is growing up without her father.

Since the tragedy, she has become a campaigner against crossbows, and has spoken out after the conviction of the man who killed the BBC commentator’s loved ones. Kyle Clifford pleaded guilty to murdering Mr Hunt’s wife, Carol, and their two daughters, Louise and Hannah, at their family home last summer. Clifford, 26, has denied one count of rape and is set to stand trial for this charge in March.

“It made me so sad because I can put myself in those women’s [shoes] – when they were in that situation, when someone is with that in front of them, it’s the scariest thing ever,” Ms Sugden told The Independent. “It made me extremely angry and frustrated ... when I’m trying to do something preventing absolute morons getting their hands on something like that and it’s still happening.”