ONE 'gangster' who confessed to taking part in the targeted shooting of a Bury man, has been jailed at Manchester Crown Court.

Aaron Parkin was imprisoned for 14 years for the attack on Abdul Rahman Khan in February 2015.

And his associate, convicted killer Mark Fellows, was given a life sentence, with a minimum nine-year tariff, after he was found guilty of involvement in a separate machete attack on a second rival, Aaron Williams, a month or so later in Irlam.

Parkin and Fellows had been acquitted earlier of conspiring to murder Mr Khan. Fellows was also cleared of conspiring to murder Mr Williams and a grievous bodily harm conspiracy in relation to Mr Khan.

Two Bury men, Warren Barnes, 32 from Radcliffe, and Liam Gee, of Church Drive, Prestwich, were cleared of conspiring to murder Mr Khan and Mr Williams respectively. Gee was also acquitted of conspiring to cause Mr Williams GBH.

The court heard the two incidents revolved around a dispute between two Salford organised crime groups who called themselves the 'A Team' and 'Anti-A Team'.

An inquiry by police into the gangs, codenamed Operation Leopard, had previously covered the murders of two kingpins, Paul Massey and John Kinsella, and the shooting of a young boy and his mother as part of tit-for-tat retributions.

Jurors were told how both incidents were planned ambushes of members of the A Team by members of the Anti-A Team.

Speaking after the case Det Chief Insp Carl Jones, the senior investigating officer, said the men convicted as part of his inquiry were from both sides of the dispute.

He added: "(But they) had something in common - violent, dangerous behaviour and disregard for the safety of the public as well as the law.

"I hope that this case has demonstrated that no one is untouchable - even organised criminals, who - naively - believe they are.

"(This) result is of great significance to communities in Salford, many of which have been blighted by violent incidents over the years. GMP will not tolerate this and I would like to reiterate our commitment to fighting organised crime across all 10 boroughs."