Hugh Doherty, also known as Quey, died of a shotgun wound to the chest in the incident on April 16.

Speaking after Levi Draper was acquitted of his murder, Hugh’s sister Esther Doherty has said she will never come to terms with what happened.

Ms Doherty, who suffered horrific injuries during the incident at Willow Farm, in Cranfield Park Avenue, Wickford, earlier this year, said: “How do you move past something like this?

“How do you move past losing the man who held your hand as a baby?

“The verdict is just unbelievable. I cannot believe it. I don’t know what is going to happen now the trial has finished.

“I’m not doing too well at all. I do not think I will ever be able to recover from this.

“My brother was a fair man. He was not a killer.”

Speaking exclusively to the Echo, Ms Doherty, a mother-of-seven, said she had moved her family away since that night.

She added: “I do not want my children to be involved with any of it.”