A man faces a life sentence after he pleaded guilty to shooting dead a biker who was riding home from a Hell’s Angels festival.

Sean Creighton, 44, from Coventry, had been due to go on trial at Birmingham Crown Court accused of murdering Gerry Tobin, 35, a mechanic, but altered his plea to guilty.

The trial of six other men for the murder of Mr Tobin, who was killed on the M40 near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, on August 12 last year, is due to start on Monday.

Mr Tobin, from Mottingham, southeast London, was shot in the back of the head as he returned from the Bulldog Bash event at Long Marston airfield in Warwickshire.

More than 100 bikers, some wearing denim and leather jackets emblazoned with “Outlaws” insignia, descended on the court last week. Some wore masks and one hid his face behind sunglasses and beneath a hoody and bowler hat.

Creighton, who also admitted two firearms charges, has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at the end of the trial, which could last six weeks. His change of plea could not be reported until the trial judge, Mr Justice Treacy, lifted the legal restrictions. After the jury were sworn in, the judge warned them not to conduct their own investigations.

Karl Garside, 45, pleaded not guilty to murder during a previous hearing in February, while Simon Turner, 41, Dane Garside, 42, Malcolm Bull, 53, Dean Taylor, 47, and Ian Cameron, 46, entered pleas of not guilty last December.

The addresses of the defendants, from Coventry, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes, cannot be published for legal reasons. All six men also face a charge of possessing a shotgun, while Mr Turner and Dane Garside are further charged with possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

During the selection of potential jurors, the judge asked whether any of them had ever been a member of, or knew members of, any organised bikers’ group. Prospective jurors were also asked whether they had ever attended the Bulldog Bash bikers’ festival or a similar event organised by a group that is known as the Outlaws.

Times Recommends

• Charles blazes trail as sun king
• Thalidomiders win payout 50 years on
• Libel gag on talk of 'medical hurricane'