Rhys witness 'saw hooded gunman'

The 14-year-old, who cannot be identified, was sitting with a friend in a tree behind the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth, Liverpool, where Rhys was killed.

In a taped police interview played to the jury at Liverpool Crown Court, the young witness said: "I saw a lad aged about 13 or 14 riding past really fast on a black BMX bike. He had a black tracksuit on and a black hoodie on."

And he added: "He went around the side of the pub and about three seconds after we lost sight of him we heard the shots. A few seconds after that, he came back riding very quickly.

"He was trying to put something in his pocket and wobbled his bike and went on to the grass. My friend jumped off the tree and everybody was shouting to go in the pub."

Rhys was killed on August 22 last year as he crossed the front car park of the pub on his way home from football training.

Sean Mercer, 18, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, denies murder.

The prosecution says Mercer blasted three shots across the car park after targeting members of a rival gang who had strayed on to his turf.

The second bullet, the jury has been told, struck Rhys in the neck and the youngster died in his mother Melanie's arms a short time later.

James Yates, 20, of Dodman Road, Croxteth, Gary Kays, 25, of Mallard Close, and Melvin Coy, 24, of Abbeyfield Drive, both West Derby, Liverpool, are accused of assisting an offender alongside two boys aged 16 and 17, who cannot be identified. A second 17-year-old boy has been charged with assisting an offender and possessing a firearm and ammunition. All deny the charges.