Danielle killers lose appeal bid

Gang members Mark Kelly, now 23, and Junior Andrews, now 26, were found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court in October 2005 of murdering the 14-year-old schoolgirl, who died when shots were fired from a passing car in the St Anne's area of Nottingham.

After three Court of Appeal judges in London ruled that their convictions were safe, Danielle's mother, Paula Platt, said she and Danielle's father, Dale Beccan, were "very pleased with the result".

"I have maintained from the very beginning that we didn't want innocent men locked away," she said. "We wanted the right men caught and convicted and that is what has happened.

She said: "The judges have closed the case for us now and brought finality."

Danielle was killed in the early hours of October 9 2004, when a gang from the Meadows district of Nottingham opened fire on a group of children as they returned from the city's annual Goose Fair.

Lord Justice Leveson, sitting with Mr Justice Treacy and Mr Justice Flaux, said it was a "truly appalling incident" when, for "no discernible reason", shots were fired from a passing car - one shot hit Danielle in the abdomen and led to her death within two hours.

The prosecution case was that the car in question was driven by Kelly with Andrews as a front seat passenger; that they both came from the Meadows area of Nottingham and hated people from St Anne's; and that one of them fired at least two shots through the driver's side window as they came upon the group including Danielle.

It was the defence case of both men "that each was elsewhere at the time". After dismissing appeals against conviction the judges rejected an appeal by Andrews against his minimum jail term of 32 years - but reduced Kelly's 32-year minimum to 29 years.

On the question of sentence, Danielle's mother commented: "We believe the arguments they put forward regarding their age and their sentences were wrong. Danielle didn't have any choice in the matter - they didn't consider her age when they did what they did."