A FAMILY is calling for a murder investigation to be reopened on the 20th anniversary of the seafront killing.

Bouncer Gary Chick was attacked by masked thugs on November 17, 1996.

No-one has ever been convicted of his murder.

His daughter Roxanne was 11-years-old at the time. Now aged 31 and living in Clacton she is raising her own children, who never met her father.

She said: “It has been so long and we are still waiting for answers.

“Justice is all we want. I will never give up.

“My dad would have been 60 now and it makes me think how old they are now, the people who attacked him, and what are they doing.”

She revealed she has asked for the murder to be featured on Crimewatch but is in a Catch 22 situation.

The case won’t feature because of a lack of new evidence but without featuring it is difficult to get new evidence.

Roxanne added: “After all these years how can the people who did it live with themselves?

“My boy is 11-years-old now, the age I was when it happened.”

Mr Chick, 40, had been working at Fibbers nightclub in Clacton on the night he died.

He was walking home to Kingsman Drive, near the Venetian bridge on the seafront, with his girlfriend.

He had been having a few drinks with other doormen at the old Waverley Hotel when he was attacked by three masked men at 2.40am.

The bouncer was hit on the head with what was believed to have been a hammer.

The murder weapon was never found.

A man was charged with murder but was acquitted in 1999.

The last time Roxanne saw her father was in the mortuary at Colchester General Hospital.

Mr Chick left three daughters - Roxanne, Jenny and Laura.

The family has since grown but there is still a gap in their lives.

Tomorrow, the extended family and many of Gary’s friends will meet for a reunion to share happy memories of him and to hope the next time they meet they have justice.

Roxanne revealed she had a visit from the cold case review team at Essex Police a few years ago who told her they were reopening the investigation.

Two days later she got a phone call to be told there was a breaking incident and they were having to suspend the review.

She said she has not heard anything since.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “Unresolved homicide cases are never closed.

“They are kept under regular review and are looked at whenever there is new information or scientific advances.

“Although 20 years have passed, we are keen to hear from anyone who has new information about Mr Chick’s murder.

“Someone knows who committed this appalling crime and while they may have felt frightened to come forward in the past or felt obliged to stay silent, allegiances and relationships will have changed over the years.

“We ask anyone with information to contact the Serious Case Review Team on 101.

“Alternatively they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

“No personal details are taken, information cannot be traced or recorded and you will not have to attend court.”