A victim impact statement from Amie Gray’s mother, Sharon Macklin, is now being read to the court, read by prosecutor Sarah Jones KC.

“Since Amie was taken from us it is like the lights have been
dimmed and we cannot get the power to go back up.”

She said, on the day of her daughter’s funeral, there had been a “sea of blue” which had been Amie’s favourite colour.

“It was amazing to see how many hearts Amie had touched in her
life.

“She had recently been made a head coach at Dorset Futsal, which she loved and she received an award for this which made her so proud.

“She had just started to plan a new work venture and on the day of her murder had secured her first customers, which made her so excited.

“This has made it so much harder for us to deal with as a family, we have all struggled to come to terms with her death and most of all the horrendous way she died.”