GANGLAND REPRISAL KILLINGS PLUNGE CITY INTO OPEN WAR

Tony Thompson Reports On The Spiralling Violence Between Rival Drug Lords
Which Has Left Three Men Dead and Liverpool Families In Terror

In the balmy sunshine of an August afternoon, the Grizedale estate in
Everton, north Liverpool, comes across as a perfectly pleasant place to
live. The neat rows of terraced two-storey houses are painted in pretty
pastel colours, the small gardens are beautifully manicured, there is
little graffiti and expensive cars sit in many of the driveways.

But appearances can be deceptive. The estate, which sits in one of the most
deprived areas in Britain, is at the heart of a vicious gang war which has
left at least three men dead and seen dozens of others wounded. At the last
count more than 250 of Grizedale's residents - around one in eight of the
estate's population - have been arrested for drugs, weapons or violence.
Hundreds of weapons have been recovered from the estate including a
powerful sniper rifle complete with telescopic sight and ammunition.
Despite this the shootings and car bombings have continued, leading local
politicians to criticise police tactics and declare the situation to be
'out of control'. With police resources stretched to cover two massive
festivals in the city this bank holiday weekend, many residents of north
Liverpool fear a new wave of violence over the trade in heroin and crack
cocaine.

The feud between drugs gangs based in Everton and their rivals in nearby
Kirkdale had been simmering for years but hit the headlines last September
when the home of former salesman Tony Richardson was sprayed with gunfire
during a drive-by shooting. Richardson, whose fiancee is actress Jennifer
Ellison, recent winner of ITV's Hell's Kitchen reality programme, is
something of a local legend. Wrongly accused of taking part in a gun attack
on a prominent local family linked to the Kirkdale gang (he was arrested
and held in custody for four months before the case was dropped), he has
been inadvertently caught up in the violence and targeted by the drugs
gangs ever since. There is said to be a UKP50,000 contract on his head
though there is no suggestion he is anything other than a victim of the feud.

A few days after the attack on Richardson's home a massive car bomb blew up
outside Club 051 in Liverpool's city centre, shattering windows in nearby
hotels, shops and offices. Miraculously no one was hurt. There was another
lucky escape six days later when a nailbomb was thrown into the middle of
the packed Dickie Lewis pub in Kirkdale. The device, which skidded across
the pub's dancefloor, had been lit but failed to detonate. Police have
little doubt that if the bomb, filled with razor-sharp shards of metal, had
exploded it would have cost lives.

In January 19-year-old Danny McDonald, supposedly responsible for the
Dickie Lewis attack, was shot dead in the Royal Oak pub. Four months later
on 6 April Craig Barker, also 19, died on the edge of the Grizedale. He and
three friends were driving out of the estate when a gunman sprayed their
car with 18 bullets. Barker was hit repeatedly in the chest, the driver was
hit several times in the legs and another passenger, Mark Richardson -
younger brother of Tony - was struck in the back. The third passenger
escaped without injury.

Revenge was swift. On 11 April 19-year-old Michael Singleton was gunned
down in Kirkdale after several men burst through the back door of his house
and shot him in the head and chest. He bled to death on the kitchen floor.
A month later father-of-three David Regan was gunned down in broad daylight
on the forecourt of the car-wash he owned in the Old Swan area of
Liverpool. Masked gunmen shot him in the back four times. His brother,
Michael, was also injured in the attack and has been moved away from the
area for his own safety.

Police responded with a massive show of force, setting up a mobile police
station in the centre of Grizedale to co-ordinate raids, removing graffiti
and handing out personal attack alarms to residents. They quickly
identified 18 key figures behind the dispute and set about arresting them
and their associates. They include five brothers from the estate who cannot
be named for legal reasons but are believed to be major figures in the
local underworld. The eldest, just 26, is now awaiting trial for unlawful
wounding after allegedly slashing a police officer with a knife during a
drugs raid. Three of the brothers face separate trials for making threats
to kill while the final member of the family is a co-defendant in an
upcoming case of alleged kidnap and wounding.

By the end of July it seemed that police had the situation under control
and the mobile police station was taken away. But then came the shooting of
26-year-old Anthony Wright. He and his girlfriend were getting out of their
car close to his Kirkdale home when a masked gunman ran towards him and
fired four shots into his chest at point blank range. Wright, a
semi-professional footballer with no criminal connections, is believed to
have been targeted because his cousin is on an attempted murder charge. He
remains in a serious condition. Then on 12 August a massive car bomb
exploded outside the police station in Walton Lane, strewing wreckage more
than 100 metres.

Despite hundreds of arrests all three gangland murders and most of the
shooting incidents remain unsolved and police are reluctant to confirm
links between them for fear of jeopardising future legal proceedings.
Questioned over recent events Chief Superintendent Mike Langdon, area
commander for Liverpool North, told The Observer: 'Major investigations are
ongoing in respect of the incidents that you have referred to. In respect
of each matter a significant line of investigation is underway to identify
any potential links to a small number of key criminal players.'

But Peter Kilfoyle, MP for Liverpool Walton, believes the current tactics
provide only a short-term solution. 'Nothing that has happened so far is
going to cure the problem,' he said. 'The people who have been arrested
will eventually return and the problems will start again. There are several
areas in the north of Liverpool which used to be decent but are rapidly
going down the pan. There is an ingrained culture which says the worst
possible thing you can do is become a grass and that is not being addressed.'

Since the clampdown, recorded crime on the Grizedale has actually started
to rise. This, say police, is a sign that their campaign has been
successful. In the past residents rarely reported crimes because they were
too scared of reprisals; the fact the figures are rising is proof of
growing confidence.

But for many residents the improvement in the quality of life is not
expected to last. 'The kids round here, they're only young but they don't
believe there is anything for them except selling drugs,' said one
mother-of-three speaking on condition of anonymity. 'And so long as there's
a demand, there's always going to be someone who wants to make money by
providing the supply.'