THE niece of murder victim Angela Wrightson has revealed her family is campaigning to create a law to provide more support for vulnerable adults like her aunt.

Rachel Tressider claims Miss Wrightson, who was battered to death in her Hartlepool by two teenage girls in December 2014, was failed by the system and is now fighting to create Angie's Law – the Vulnerable Persons Act, which she believes would give care providers more power to intervene.

And she said she is unable to accept an apology from the mother of one of her aunt's killers.

The girls inflicted horrific injuries on 39-year-old Miss Wrightson after she had invited them into her home and bought them cigarettes and alcohol. They were later found guilty of murder and sentenced to 15 years detention.

Miss Wrightson, and her young killers – aged just 13 and 14 at the time – were known to social services and an independent multi-agency review is now being carried out led by the Teeswide (correct) Safeguarding Adults Board and Hartlepool Safeguarding Children Board.

Speaking for the first time in an interview with Tyne Tees news, Rachel said: “Angela's nieces and nephews, including myself, can't understand how this could have happened to our aunt. The entire family have one question that has never been answered - why?

"Angela was failed by the system, which is why we need to create Angie's Law. Angie's Law would empower adult services, the police and the courts to obtain and enforce prohibited steps orders against individuals who intrude on, or take over, a vulnerable person’s home or possessions."

She added that Angie’s Law could help people like her aunt by bringing in new powers to deal with children or unruly people who are taking over people’s homes.

The family now hopes to work with the Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald when the serious case review is completed and plan to write to Prime Minister David Cameron.

Rachel added that despite her aunt's problems, which included spells in prison, her aunt was “lovely” and said she could not accept the apology from the mother of one of the killers.

She said: "She expects us to accept her apology, when she can’t accept responsibility for her own child.

"So I don’t accept what she’s saying and I think she’s trying to wriggle out of taking some kind of responsibility for it, which she needs to because it is her child."