Cregan admitted pub killing to his mother

THE mother of police killer Dale Cregan has told a jury he admitted a pub murder to her - but she didn’t believe him.

Anita Cregan was a witness in the trial of one of Cregan’s co-accused, and revealed a conversation with her son following his arrest over the gun killing of Mark Short (23), at the Cotton Tree pub in Droylsden last May.

Preston Crown Court heard the murder took place amid an alleged background of “history” between the Short family and another local family, the Atkinsons.

Three months later, Mark’s father, David (46), was killed in a gun and grenade assault at his home in Clayton. Cregan denies both murders, but has already admitted the murder of two policewomen, one of them PC Nicola Hughes (23) from Diggle, by luring them to a house with a bogus burglary report before opening fire.

Ms Cregan was called as a witness by lawyers representing Francis Dixon (37), from Stalybridge, who also denies the murder of David Short.

Speaking from behind a screen under cross–examination, she told the barrister for another accused, Matthew James (33) — an alleged "spotter" at the Cotton Tree — that she didn’t know who killed Short.

After being asked if she had spoken to her son about the killing, she told the court she had.

“He has told you who it was?” asked the barrister. Ms Cregan said: “He’s told me, yes. He’s told me he did the murders.”

“The murder at the Cotton Tree?” said Mr Ryder. “Yes,” she said.

“So you know from your son who the gunman was?”

“Yes, I don’t believe he did though,” she replied.

Cregan denies the Short murders and the attempted murder of three others injured in the pub attack along with causing an explosion and the attempted murder of Sharon Hark in a separate attack minutes after the murder of David Short.

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