Taxi driver ‘feared’ pub gunman

A TAXI driver thought he was going to be shot by a masked gunman making his getaway after a pub killing, the Cregan murder trial heard.

One–eyed Cregan, who has dramatically admitted murdering PC Nicola Hughes (23) and PC Fiona Bone (32) last September, denies killing Mark Short - gunned down in the Cotton Tree pub in Droylsden last May — and Short’s father David.

Cregan went on the run following a revenge attack which erupted amid a simmering family feud in east Manchester, jurors have heard.

Cregan is said to have stopped outside the Cotton Tree on May 25 with co–accused Luke Livesey (27) and Damian Gorman (38), before a balaclava–clad gunman entered the pub.

Preston Crown Court heard how a passing taxi driver witnessed a man stand in the entrance and fire a gun from his outstretched hand. He heard “five or six” bangs.

In a statement read to the court, Viqar Qureshi said: “I saw a black–coloured handgun. He was clearly letting off shots as he stood there.

“He made his way to the (Ford) Focus and got into a passenger side door. The gunman made eye contact with me. I was worried he was going to pull the trigger on me.”

Cregan, of no fixed address, Leon Atkinson (35), from Ashton, Livesey, from Hattersley, Gorman, from Glossop, Ryan Hadfield (28), from Droylsden, and Matthew James (33), from Clayton, are all accused of the murder of Mark Short and the attempted murders of three others also in the pub.

Accused of the murder of David Short on August 10 last year are Cregan, Francis Dixon (37), from Stalybridge, Anthony Wilkinson (38), from Manchester, and Jermaine Ward (24).

All four are also jointly accused of the attempted murder of Sharon Hark on the same day, and a single charge of causing an explosion.

Wilkinson is additionally charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and Mohammed Ali (32), from Chadderton, is accused of assisting an offender.