Rhys Jones was the innocent victim of a gangland feud, a jury heard today.

The 11-year-old schoolboy was mown down by a hooded gunman in the forecourt of The Fir Tree pub in Croxteth Park, Merseyside, shortly before 7.30pm on Wednesday August 22 last year, as he walked home from football practice.

But Neil Flewitt, QC, opening for the prosecution, said that he was not 18-year-old Sean Mercer's intended victim. He had simply walked across the car park at exactly the same time as the gunman approached from behind the pub.

The barrister told the jury that the gunman emerged from the shadows to fire three shots across the car park area. One hit the schoolboy in the neck and fatally wounded him. It was Sean Mercer who fired the gun, a .455 Smith and Weston, he alleged.

The gunman immediately set about distancing himself from what Mr Flewitt described as "the tragic events". He moved quickly to dispose of his clothing, his pedal cycle and the gun that he had use to "such devastating effect".

Mr Flewitt said that the alleged killer was assisted in avoiding detection by a number of friends and associates, including the six other defendants sharing the dock with Sean Mercer.

The prosecution suggest that Rhys was the "innocent victim of a long running feud between rival gangs", known as the The Croxteth Crew and The Strand Gang, operating in the Croxteth and Noris Green areas of east Liverpool. It is a feud characterised by numerous incidents of criminal damage and assault whose best-known manifstation was the murder of Liam Smith, a member of the Strand Gang, who was shot dead outside Altcourse Prison on August 23, 2006.

Mr Flewitt told the jury that on the afternoon of Rhys's murder, three young members of the Strand Gang - Wayne Brady and two others who cannot be named for legal reasons - were in the area.

Mr Flewitt said: "It was the presence of those young men that brought Sean Mercer to The Fir Tree pub and it was at two of those young men that Sean Mercer was shooting when he killed Rhys Jones.

"It is, therefore, the prosecution case that the murder of Rhys Jones was yet another, and even more tragic, example of the mindless and indiscriminate violence that is a feature of the rivalry between The Croxteth Crew and The Strand Gang.

"The activities of The Croxteth Crew not only provided the motive for the murder of Rhys Jones but also led to the involvement of the other defendants in this appalling episode. It is the prosecution case that the strength of the loyalty that existed among gang members and their associates explains the speed and enthusiasm with which Boy M, James Yates, Boy Q, Gary Kays, Melvin Coy and Boy K did all that they could to help Sean Mercer avoid responsibility for the dreadful events of August 22, 2007."

Mr Mercer, 18, of Croxteth, Liverpool, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Rhys. He shares the dock with six others, including three juveniles, who deny a variety of related charges.

James Yates, 20, also of Croxteth, denies possession of a prohibited firearm, a Smith and Wesson .455 revolver. He and two juveniles - as Boys M, 16, and Q, aged 17 - also deny assisting an offender by disposing of the handgun with the intention of impeding a prosecution.

Gary Kays, 25, and Melvin Coy, 24, both of Croxteth, deny assisting an offender by providing him with transport. Mr Yates, Mr Kays and Mr Coy, along with Boys M and Q, have also pleaded not guilty to assisting the alleged offender dispose of clothing.

Boy M, whose address cannot be published, denies helping the alleged offender to dispose of a bicycle.

Another juvenile, identified only as Boy K, aged 17, is accused of assisting an offender by hiding a weapon, two charges of possessing prohibited firearms and possessing ammunition. He denies each charge.

The trial continues.

Times Recommends

• What makes the perfect mum?
• To keep me stress-free, no more awareness days, please
• What do lottery winners buy?