HIRED GUNMAN GETS LIFE FOR KILLING BOY, 5, IN DRUG FEUD

A HIRED gunman who shot and killed a five-year-old boy in a bungled
ambush as the child walked hand in hand with his stepfather was jailed
for life yesterday.

Paul Seddon, 27, described by police as a cold, calculating killer,
was told by a judge at Preston Crown Court that he will have to serve
at least 25 years after being convicted of murdering Dillon Hull in a
Bolton street.

The jury also found two others, David Hargreaves, 24, and Craig
Hollinrake, 25, guilty of conspiring with Seddon to murder Dillon's
stepfather, John Bates. All three convicted men are from Bolton. Brian
Roper, 22, also of Bolton, was acquitted of the conspiracy.

During five weeks of evidence, the court was told how Dillon was shot
by a gunman disguised in a motorcycle crash helmet. The boy had been
caught in the firing line of a Bolton drug feud. The intended target
was Mr Bates, 28, a small-time dealer suspected by his rivals of
undercutting them.

Seddon, who had been lying in wait, pulled a handgun from his jacket
and fired. He then fled, discarding the helmet and abandoning his
getaway car. He left Mr Bates wounded and holding his stepson, who had
been killed instantly by a bullet to the head.

Mr Justice Forbes said that the crime, on August 6 last year, had
"sent shockwaves through the country". He told the court: "On a
summer's afternoon a child was shot in broad daylight in a residential
area of Bolton.

"Ordinary citizens were brought in immediate contact with horrifying
violence and tragic death." Earlier the judge said that it might never
be known who had hired Seddon. But he told him: "I have no doubt that
your attack was carried out in order to further the interests of those
who were engaged in dealing illegal drugs in Bolton.

"It was at their behest. You were their hired killer. You brought
sudden violence and terror to the residential streets of Bolton on
that warm summer's afternoon. You also brought death, but not to your
intended victim - you only wounded him. You brought death to an
innocent little boy who had the misfortune of holding hands with your
target at the time you opened fire.

"So it was, you shot and murdered Dillon Hull, who was only 5 years
old. Those two sentences express more eloquently than any other words
I could use for the terrible nature of your crimes. You have never
shown the slightest remorse and apparently you feel no shame at what
you have done."

He told Seddon that he would recommend that he serve at least 25
years. As he was led away Seddon, who has previous convictions for
drug offences, shouted: "I didn't pull the trigger. It wasn't me . .
."

Hargreaves, who was described by the judge as the main conspirator,
was sentenced to 18 years. Hollinrake, said by the judge to have shown
some distress at the child's death, was given 16 years. As he was led
away, he pointed at the judge and bellowed: "You are full of shit.
I'll see you in the Royal Courts of Justice."

Checked-by: Patrick Henry