'Face the Family' campaign takes to the streets

Family and friends of 9-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel are taking to the streets of Merseyside and beyond, canvassing support for the Face the Family campaign.

It's calling for a change in the law, so offenders have to appear in court for sentencing. The campaign was sparked by the outrage across Merseyside and the country when the man who shot Olivia in her own home in Dovecot, refused to come up from the cells.

A petition calling on the government to make the change has already gathered thousands of signatures, but it's yet to meet the threshold for a government response, or a debate in Parliament.

Following the Face the Family summit just three weeks ago, Olivia's family and friends set up a facebook page in support of Face the Family are planning to head to towns and cities across the country, gathering signatures.

Olivia's mum Cheryl said: "As long as we see the signatures carry on going up, it'll drive us to carry on. We need to make noise, and hopefully other families that've been through what we have may think 'hang on we could maybe do the same' and join forces.

"The level of support is amazing. Each and every person we come across, they say they're behind us.

"If it stops just one family from going through what we went through, then job done. Hopefully with the driving force of Face the Family, we get a change in the law."

Cheryl's cousin, Antonia Elverson is among those heading out to canvass further support, she said: "We're raring to go. I'm very hopeful we'll get a good response to see those signatures going up. There is a reason behind it, and it is about making that change."

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