Andrea Draycott said their "childhood had been taken away" when their father David was killed.

The 40-year-old was shot several times in the driveway of their home in Woodlands Way in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire on 7 October.

Police believe his killer may have been a professional hitman hired to assassinate the father-of-two.

David Draycott was 40 when he was killed

"No child's last memory of their father should be of him being wheeled into an ambulance riddled with bullets," said Mrs Draycott, mother of an 11-year-old boy and eight-year-old girl.

After the attack Mr Draycott was able to crawl to a neighbour's house to raise the alarm.

Paramedics took Mr Draycott, who was once managing director of a Mansfield sheet metal firm, to hospital where he died four days later.

'Cold-blooded' killer

Mrs Draycott, 36, continued: "This mindless act of pure evil has sent our lives into an emotional turmoil, to which we feel we need answers as to why."

Detective Superintendent Ash Parfrement, who is leading the inquiry, said police hope to trace the owner of a red Vauxhall Nova spotted at the scene.

"Mr Draycott was shot several times in the body and this was a cold-blooded, assassination-style killing.

"Our inquiries are centring on his background, friends and associates and we believe that someone connected to Mr Draycott may be responsible."