TWO men were jailed for life yesterday for the murder of a schoolgirl in a drive-by shooting and told that they would serve at least 32 years before parole could be considered.

Mark Kelly and Junior Andrews killed Danielle Beccan, 14, when they opened fire on a group of teenagers who were returning home from the annual Goose Fair in Nottingham. The attack, in the early hours of October 9 last year, was part of an inner-city feud.

During the trial at Birmingham Crown Court, the jury was told that Kelly, 20, and Andrews, 24, were long-standing members of The Waterfront Gang, who have a hatred for people from the St Ann’s district of Nottingham, where Danielle lived.

The five-week trial revealed a long-established enmity between two districts of the city — The Meadows, where the gang was based, and St Ann’s a few miles away.

A bleak picture of the two estates was painted, by prosecution and defence lawyers, who described a culture of gangs, drugs and guns, a view backed up by Danielle’s mother.

There were shouts of “Yes” when the 10-2 majority verdicts were returned by the jury after deliberations lasting 16 hours.

The killers had denied murder, but the jury heard that Kelly was driving the gold Citroën Xsara car belonging to his mother that the gang used to drive around St Ann’s looking for a victim. Andrews, who was a front-seat passenger, had previously filmed himself in St Ann’s smoking a joint and saying: “I’m a real killer.”

Danielle was with a group of friends when she was shot in the stomach at close range near her home. Paula Platt, her mother, was among the first on the scene and held her daughter as the teenager lost consciousness.

The killers, who had been out burgling in the more affluent area of Clifton before the shooting, had gone into the rival district shortly after midnight intending to “shoot up” people from the estate.

Kelly dipped his headlights as the pair came across Danielle and her friends walking along Rushworth Close. Pulling alongside the teenagers, Kelly slowed down long enough for the gunman, said by the prosecution to be Andrews, to open fire with a handgun, hitting Danielle in the stomach.

Realising that she had been hit, Danielle’s friends dragged her into an alleyway as the gunmen sped off. Witnesses saw Andrews make a victory salute out of the car window, forming a “W” sign with his gloved hand, showing his allegiance to the Waterfront Gang.

In a statement, Mrs Platt recounted Danielle’s last moments. She said that her last words had been: “I’m not going to make it . . . I’m dying.”

Despite her mother’s efforts to keep her conscious, Danielle died a short time later on an operating table at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.

The killers fled Nottingham, but were arrested within days, Kelly in London and Andrews in Aberdeen. Gunshot residue was found inside the Citroën matching the bullets fired.

Two mobile phones belonging to Andrews, a drug dealer, were also found in the glove compartment. Analysis of phone records put the two men at the scene of the shooting at the time.

Despite the evidence against them, both men denied that they had been involved. Andrews, who is also known as “Prento” or “Prentis”, claimed to have been in the Bomb nightclub in Nottingham city centre until 3am and not anywhere near St Ann’s. He also denied involvement with The Waterfront Gang, but was unable to explain why he had the initials “WFG” tattooed on his right upper arm.

Kelly chose not to give evidence during the trial.

Mr Justice Butterfield told them that they would serve a minimum 32 years before they would be considered for parole. “This was a terrible killing,” he said. “You armed yourselves with a handgun and set out cruising around St Ann’s looking for likely victims.

“It was what you told [a witness in the case] you wanted to do. Your pathological and illogical hatred of everyone from St Ann’s was so intense you did indeed want to kill.

“You found a group of young people, most of them children, you stopped your car and fired at them at a range of no more than ten yards.”

After the sentencing, the judge told the family and friends of the victim that no one who had sat through the trial could fail to have been impressed by their quiet dignity. “Nothing can began to compensate you for your loss,” he said. “At the conclusion of the trial, one chapter is over and you have the heartfelt sympathy of us all.”

Detective Superintendent Kevin Flint said after the case: “Today’s convictions are a testimony to what can be achieved when the community, the public at large and police work together to achieve a result like we have had today.”

He said the investigation had been hampered by “fear and intimidation”, but these had been overcome in this case.

Mr Flint said inquiries were continuing to identify up to three other people who had been travelling in the Citroën from which the shots were fired. He said that 25 officers were working on the case.

Mrs Platt, 32, spoke later of a “year of hell” since the murder. She said: “We have been through so much pain and anguish and today we have got a verdict that obviously we are pleased with, but you will forgive us if we don’t sound very jubilant because at the end of the day we are leaving here without Danielle.”

After the murder more than 5,000 people gathered to pay their respects to Danielle and make a silent protest against the gang battles for which Nottingham had become notorious.

Since 2002, Nottinghamshire Police have seized more than 350 firearms, recovered about 3,500 rounds of ammunition and detained more than 600 offenders.

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