THE last woman to be hanged in Britain, who lived part of her life in Warsash, is to have her murder conviction reviewed at the Court of Appeal.

Ruth Ellis was 28 when she was convicted of gunning down her lover David Blakely outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead, London on Easter Sunday, 1955.

The mother-of-two was hanged at Holloway Prison later that year after a jury took just 23 minutes to find her guilty of murder.

Now her case is to be reviewed on September 16 in London following a lifelong campaign by her sister Muriel Jakubait to clear her name.

Mrs Ellis moved to Warsash Road from London in the early 1950s and married dentist George Ellis before falling pregnant.

The couple lived in Hampshire for up to six months before they split and Mrs Ellis returned to London.

Her loyal sister Mrs Jakubait, who lives in Woking, said: "I'm full of hope about the appeal but I can't jump to any conclusions about the result at the moment.

"I've been waiting all of my life for this appeal. Things have been very slow. Whatever happens at the appeal, if the result isn't satisfactory I'll continue the fight.

"My life has revolved around trying to clear Ruth's name. I've hoped and prayed that someone would come into my life and help me to fight in the right way and settle it."

The high-profile case has been put together by husband-and-wife legal team Bernard and Lynne de Maid, based in Cardiff, and may hinge on crucial papers that have lain untouched for 30 years.

The couple were unavailable for comment but Mrs de Maid has previously told the Daily Echo: "We have compiled a case on the grounds of diminished responsibility and provocation.

"The knock-on effect this case had on Ruth's family was tragic and there isn't a judge in today's civilised society who could honestly maintain this murder conviction."