POPULAR Gwynedd artist Josie Russell, who survived a brutal hammer attack which killed her mother and sister, is to marry.

The 30-year-old from the Nantlle Valley has announced her engagement to Iwan Griffith.

Josie, who survived an attack in which her mother and sister were murdered more than 20 years ago, was brought up at Talysarn, near Penygroes, and moved back to her childhood home seven years ago.

She now wants to start a family with 31-year-old fiancé Iwan, a fire alarm engineer who proposed last December.

Ms Russell was just nine when Michael Stone attacked the trio in July 1996 as they walked along a country lane in Kent where they had moved to live.

The terrifying attack, which saw 45-year-old mother Lin and six-year-old sister Megan bludgeoned to death, shocked the world.

The family dog also lost its life.