The trial of a man accused of the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel is due to begin today.

Olivia was fatally shot at her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, just after 10pm on August 22 last year.

Her mother, Cheryl Korbel, 46, was injured in the shooting as the gunman chased convicted burglar Joseph Nee, into their home.

Thomas Cashman, 34, denies the murder of Olivia, the attempted murder of Nee and the wounding with intent of Olivia’s mother Cheryl Korbel.

Cashman, of Grenadier Drive, West Derby, Liverpool, also denies two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

His trial, at Manchester Crown Court, is expected to start on Monday and last four weeks.

Following her death, Olivia’s family described her as a “unique, chatty, nosey little girl who broke the mould when she was born”.

They said: “Although her life was short, her personality certainly wasn’t and she lived it to the most she could, and would blow people away with her wit and kindness.”