Two men have been charged with murdering council worker Ashley Dale, who was found with a gunshot wound in the back garden of her home in Liverpool last year.

James Witham, 40, and Joseph Peers, 28, who are from the Huyton area of the city, were arrested yesterday.

Ms Dale was found in the back garden of her home in Liverpool in the early hours of the morning last August.

She was taken to hospital where she died the same day.

Merseyside Police said Witham, of Ashbury Road, Huyton, and Joseph Peers, of Woodlands Road, Roby, had been charged with murder and possession of a firearm with intent.

They have both been remanded in custody to appear at Wirral adult remand court at Wirral Magistrates’ Court this morning.

Ms Dale, an environmental health officer for Knowsley Council, is not believed to have been the intended target of the shooting.

A 25-year-old man from St Helens who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an officer remains in custody.

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