Rhys gun supplier's sentence raised

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, increased the seven-year term originally imposed on James Yates to 12 years - a move welcomed by the parents of gang warfare victim Rhys Jones.

Stephen and Melanie Jones were present at the Court of Appeal in London to hear Lord Judge, Mrs Justice Rafferty and Mr Justice Henriques, rule that seven years was "unduly lenient".

Yates, 21, of Dodman Road, Croxteth, Liverpool, a member of the Croxteth Crew gang, sat in the dock of the court for the proceedings. He was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court in January for possession of a prohibited firearm and assisting an offender.

Lord Judge, announcing the five-year increase, stressed that gun crime was a "modern pestilence" and that offenders faced severe, deterrent custodial terms.

Mr and Mrs Jones, whose eleven-year-old son was shot dead in August 2007 in a Liverpool pub car park as he made his way home from football training, said they hoped that the message sent out by the court would deter others from getting involved in gun crime and gangs. Rhys's mother said outside court: "We are just absolutely delighted that he has had his sentence increased."

She expressed the hope that "kids and young men will think twice now about picking up a gun and joining these gangs", adding: "Sentences are getting stiffer. That has got to be a positive thing out of all that has happened."

Standing next to her outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Mr Jones commented: "We did think the sentence was lenient considering what he had actually done. He had supplied the gun that murdered somebody. We are just really happy that that deterrent is there now...there is a big sentence if you get caught."

As well as the firearm charge Yates was convicted of assisting murderer Sean Mercer, 18, by helping dump the gun and his clothing. Mercer, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, was given life and ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years before he can apply for parole, after being convicted of murder by a Liverpool Crown Court jury in December.

He blasted three bullets across a pub car park after targeting gang rivals who had strayed on to his turf. Rhys was caught in the line of fire and shot in the neck. He died in his mother's arms a short time later.