The grandchildren of the last woman to be executed in Britain have called for Ruth Ellis to be pardoned, 70 years after she was sent to the gallows for murdering her "abusive" lover, their lawyers said Wednesday.

Ellis, a 28-year-old nightclub hostess, was hanged in July 1955 for shooting dead racing driver David Blakely as he came out of the Magdala pub in London three months earlier.

The case gripped Britain and was turned into the 1985 film "Dance with a Stranger" starring Miranda Richardson and Rupert Everett. It also inspired this year's true crime miniseries "A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story."

Ruth Ellis with boyfriend David Blakely at the Little Club in London 1955. Ellis was charged with murder and hanged for the shooting of Blakely. Daily Mirror/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix v

See Full Page