Father of Elle Edwards says her life was just beginning as he pays tribute to his “beautiful” daughter

Elle Edwards was killed after a gunman opened fire on the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey, Merseyside, shortly before midnight on December 24

The grieving father of Elle Edwards who was shot dead in a Merseyside pub while celebrating on Christmas Eve said her life was only just beginning.

Tim Edwards said he hopes a foundation in the name of his daughter, Elle Edwards, 26, will combat gun violence in the region.

Ms Edwards was shot while out celebrating Christmas with friends, when a gunman opened fire on the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village on the Wirral, shortly before midnight on December 24.

She was not believed to have been the intended target of the shooting.

In his first interview since her death, Mr Edwards told Sky News that Elle, a beautician and dental nurse, “had a heart of gold”.

He said: “She was beautiful looking and she was a great hugger. She was just a fantastic human being with a heart of gold.”

He said the “hardest part” was that his daughter’s life had been cut short aged just 26. “She was just getting going,” he told Sky News.

“She had her focus, she had her own ambitions and she was achieving them, and everything was set in place for her and it was just taken away, and that’s sad.”

He added: “There are no winners with gun crime.

“If you pick up a gun, your future is over and everybody else’s future around you is over. It’s dead simple. It’s absolutely pointless and it solves nothing.

“I want to see a positive that comes out of this. Elle’s name will be used for good in the future. She can’t be forgotten.”

Ms Edwards’s funeral will take place on January 25.

Connor Chapman, 22, will go on trial for the murder of Elle Edwards on June 7.

There is a special Public Portal  Public Portal (mipp.police.uk) where information, CCTV and dashcam and mobile phone footage can be uploaded directly to the investigation team. Information can also be passed via 101, DM @MerPolCC or by contacting @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111, with reference 22000948723.