The daughter of the woman who inspired the ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign, which helps people alert others when they’re in a dangerous situation, says knowing her mother inspired the safety codeword has helped her deal with her ‘anger and frustration’.
Angela Crompton was strangled to death after being beaten around the head with an industrial hammer by her husband Thomas Crompton in a row over decorating in 2012.
Crompton, then 39, was jailed for seven and a half years – but served just four – after he was found guilty of manslaughter after he brutally killed his 34-year-old wife of three months, Angela, in June that year.
Angela’s death – two days after she was attacked – became the catalyst for the codeword and is now used globally by people when they feel unsafe, particularly in bars and nightclubs.
Many venues carry stickers in toilets urging people to ask at the bar ‘for Angela’ as a way of alerting staff to their potential danger.
The phrase comes from the US-originated campaign encouraging those who feel unsafe to ask for an ‘angel shot’ but was simplified to ‘asking for Angela’ when it was started in the UK in Lincolnshire in 2016.
However, Angela’s daughter has now called on the Government to demand that the codeword is actioned properly, after a BBC investigation uncovered failings.
The broadcaster found that more than half of the venues – 13 out of 25 – attended by an uncover journalist didn’t respond correctly when the codeword was uttered to staff.
Angela’s daughter Hollie told the BBC this week that she was pleased her mother’s name was helping keep other women safe via the Ask for Angela codeword campaign
Angela Crompton was just 34 when she was killed on June 12th 2012 – at the hands of blacksmith Thomas Crompton; the couple had been married for just a few months when he attacked her with an industrial hammer before strangling her (Pictured: Angela Crompton and Hollie)
Crompton, then 39, was jailed for seven and a half years – but served just four – for leaving his wife with ‘injuries that could not have been survived by anyone’
According to AskforAngela.co.uk, staff should be trained to help ‘alert venue security and/or the police if it’s a serious safety issue’.
Hollie told the BBC: ‘We need safer spaces for women and tougher penalties for offenders. If the government can change the law to make this mandatory, then great.’
She also revealed the harrowing events of the night her mother died, saying she had been 15 at the time and had been expecting her mother to collect her.
Hollie explained: ‘My dad came to pick me up and said: “We’ve had a phone call. We’re not entirely sure what’s happened.”
‘We rushed to the hospital, where we learned how extreme it was. We were told she was on life support and was going to die any minute.’
The argument between the newlyweds had begun because Angela had cleared Crompton’s belongings away ready to decorate their house at Arminghall, near Norwich.
When metal sculptor Crompton got home from work he ‘lost it’ because he was concerned his items could have be damaged.
A blazing row broke out and witnesses could hear crockery being smashed.
Father-of-two Crompton attempted to strangle his wife before attacking her with the hammer, hitting her around the head a number of times.
When he returned to the workshop he confessed what he had done to his co-worker Bjorn Fiskvatn, and said: ‘That’s it. I’ve killed her’
The 34-year-old’s death sparked a campaign to enable women to use a codeword – Angela’s name – to alert people if they were in potentially dangerous situations
However, Hollie has now urged the Government to take action to make sure the ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign is properly implemented after a BBC undercover reporter found 13 our of 25 venues didn’t ask when she asked staff for Angela
The campaign took inspiration for a similar US initiative that suggested women ask for an ‘angel shot’ but was adapted using the name Angela when it launched in Lincolnshire in 2016
Hollie says Angela’s family felt let down by the justice system after her mother’s killer was out of prison just four years after he was found guilty of causing her death (Pictured: Angela Crompton and Hollie)
Angela Phillips had wanted to decorate the home she shared with Thomas Crompton (pictured) when he ‘lost it’ and killed her with a hammer
Mr Fiskvatn rushed to the house and found Ms Phillips on the floor of the dining room, where she was still breathing.
The mother-of-three young children was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital before being moved to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, but died two days later from her head injuries.
A post mortem found Angela had suffered significant brain damage and ‘non-survivable’ head injuries.
Crompton had always admitted killing his wife and was cleared of murder following a trial at Norwich Crown Court, but was convicted of her manslaughter.
Judge Peter Jacobs said at the trial: ‘The type of injuries she received could not have been survived by anyone.’
Hollie told the BBC that Crompton’s short sentence left them feeling let down by the law, saying: ‘Most of the anger and frustration actually came after the court case
‘Just, like how has this justice system let us down so badly? How has this kind of thing essentially been allowed to happen and there’s just been a slap on the wrist?’
She told the broadcaster that knowing her mother was helping to keep other women safe had given her comfort, saying it had helped her channel her anger and frustration into a ‘really positive campaign that’s helping so many different people.’
