Pictured: Girl, 16, shot in the head after party on Shameless estate

A man has been charged in connection with the shooting of a 16-year-old girl on the council estate where the TV series Shameless was filmed.

The youngster, named by neighbours as as Sophie Finucane, remains critically ill after she was shot in the head at her home in the Gorton area of the city early on Saturday.

Wayne Bryan, 19, of Gorton Villa Walk, Gorton, was arrested shortly afterwards and has been charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm and possession of a firearm and ammunition.

He will appear at Manchester Magistrates' Court this morning.

The estate provides the backdrop to Channel 4’s comedy-drama about Britain’s underclass, featuring heavy drinking, fighting and drug-taking.

Neighbours said parties were regularly held at Sophie’s home and that windows had often been smashed there.

Police said Sophie was in a critical condition following emergency neurosurgery. Her father, John, was travelling from his home in Ireland to be at
his daughter’s bedside in Hope Hospital, Salford.

Neighbour Denise Worthington, 50, said: ‘This is devastating and very sad. It gets scary round here with gangs of lads and intimidation but we never expected this.’

Next-door neighbour Richard Carson, 60, said: ‘She is a good kid, it’s very, very sad. She is a lovely lass.’

Crime scene: Police officers outside where Sophie was shot in the head in Gorton, Manchester

Sophie’s friend Shinel Walcott, also 16, said: ‘She was a nice, placid girl who didn’t deserve this. A friend of mine was in the house and heard a gunshot which she said shook the whole house.

‘She told me Sophie was screaming, with blood over her.

‘She always had people round. She was a very popular girl. They would have had
a few drinks.

‘There are nice people around here. It’s not all bad.’

The flat was cordoned off while police forensic experts conducted a fingertip search.

Investigation: Police forensic experts at the scene of the shooting which happened on the estate, below, where TV series Shameless was set

A member of the local tenants’ association, 28-year-old call-centre worker Jordan Price, painted a grim picture of life on the estate.

‘It’s really bad. Kids have been seen with guns around here. Sooner or later something serious was going to happen here. This house was notorious. It’s just like Shameless.

‘Her mum goes away and all hell is let loose. One night there were 30 or more people fighting outside. It’s the No1 problem house in the area.’