THE OLDER sister of murdered toddler Andrew Morton has spoken for the first time of the devastating impact of the loss on her family on the tenth anniversary of his death.

Sammy Mcmillan, now 20, will join the rest of the family at Andrew's grave today. She has now joined her voice to that of her parents in demanding that the Scottish Government fulfils its promise to ban air guns, and has demanded that her brother's killer not be allowed to return to their area when out of jail.

Sammy was just ten and watching firefighters dealing with a blaze in the kitchen of a ground floor flat near her home when she saw her big brother Brian, then 13, carrying Andrew, who was two, towards the shops.

As she watched, Brian also stopped a few yards away to watch the firefighters at work, and then Andrew went limp in his brother's arms. When Brian tried to put his brother down, he was all floppy and Brian's hands were covered in blood.

A pellet from drug-crazed Mark Bonini's reinforced air weapon had gone into Andrew's head. He never recovered consciousness and he died in hospital two days later on 4 March 2005.

Bonini was jailed for life for Andrew's murder, but a minimum term of only 13 years was set and Sammy and the rest of the family are already tense about his possible release in the not too distant future.

Sammy said: "I could hear a 'Pop, Pop' sound every so often but thought it was something to do with the fire.

"Then I saw Brian suddenly lifting Andrew down and there was blood on his hands. I ran across and one of the firemen tried giving Andrew first aid. There was nothing from Andrew, nothing, and we were scared.

"Someone ran to my mum and she called an ambulance. There was crying and screaming. I will never forget that moment when we found out he'd been shot. I wish I didn't remember, but I do.

Bonini's crime shocked the nation and sparked immediate calls for a crack-down on airgun ownership.

Yet the new laws politicians promised in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy still have not been introduced.

There are no greater restrictions on the use and ownership of the estimated 500,000 air weapons in Scotland today than there were in 2005 when Bonini used his weapon to kill.

Andrew's parents, Sharon Macmillan and Andy Morton, fear Bonini will complete the 13-year minimum term of his life sentence and be freed to walk the streets before the promised legislation becomes reality.

But they insist they will never give up in their quest to change the law.

Even as they laid Andrew to rest and comforted their other children, the pair were starting to think about a campaign that would give their son a legacy and help to keep other families from the horror they had endured.

Sharon, 44, wants to know why the family is still waiting. She said: "I visit Andrew's grave every Sunday and on every visit I promise him we'll get Andrew's Law. I've been making that promise for years now, and we won't stop fighting until it's done."

The Scottish Government said it "hoped" its proposals introduced to the Holyrood parliament last year would "become law later this year".

A spokesman added: "The death of Andrew Morton was a tragedy and the Scottish Government is determined to do all it can to make sure no other parent has to suffer the loss of a child in this way.

"The bravery of Andrew's parents over the past decade is admirable and we are grateful for their continued interest in the development of new laws which will ensure tougher restrictions are in place to stop these weapons falling into the wrong hands, sometimes with deadly consequences."