An “ongoing feud” between rival groups led to the shooting of a “wholly innocent” woman outside a pub on Christmas Eve, a court has heard.
Elle Edwards, 26, was killed in the sub-machine gun shooting outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral, Merseyside, on 24 December last year.
Connor Chapman, 23, is on trial accused of her murder.
Opening the trial at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, prosecutor Nigel Power KC said Ms Edwards went out for a cigarette at 11.47pm on an “enjoyable night out”.
Footage played to the court showed a man walk round the corner from the car park of the pub and open fire, injuring five people and killing Ms Edwards.
He was using a Skorpion sub-machine gun, a Czech firearm designed for the security services and the army, the court heard.
Image: Elle Edwards’ family arrive at court in Liverpool
Mr Power said the intended targets of the shooting were Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld.
He told the jury the shooting followed a “history of trouble” between rival groups from the Woodchurch and Ford estates, on either side of the M53 in Wirral.
“Although they were injured, Elle Edwards, a wholly innocent bystander, was killed by two bullets which entered the back of the left side of her head,” Mr Power said.
A burglary, injunctions and two shootings in December were outlined as a series of events in the “ongoing feud”.
The court heard that the day before the shooting, on 23 December, Mr Duffy and Mr Salkeld, from the Ford estate, assaulted Sam Searson, from the Woodchurch estate.
“What we say it shows is that what otherwise might have been viewed as a random or inexplicable shooting of a wholly innocent woman, Elle Edwards, was in fact the culmination of an ongoing feud,” Mr Power said.
The jury was told that after the shooting, Chapman drove a stolen Mercedes to the home of his friend and co-defendant 20-year-old Thomas Waring in Barnston, Wirral.
A man, alleged to be Chapman, was seen walking towards Waring’s house in CCTV footage shown to the court.
“What we suggest is, as the man, who is in the stolen car that had been in the car park, from which the shooting had taken place, as he ruffles his hair he dislodges the gun that had just carried out the murder, which drops to the floor and then he picks it up,” Mr Power said.
A dozen members of Ms Edwards’ family were in court on Tuesday. Since her death, Ms Edwards’ father Tim Edwards has publicly supported anti-violence charity Weapons Down Gloves Up.
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Father of Elle Edwards joins anti-violence march
Chapman denies the murder of Ms Edwards, two counts of attempted murder and three counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He also denies possession of a sub-machine gun and ammunition with intent to endanger life.
Waring, of Private Drive, Barnston, Wirral, denies possessing a prohibited weapon and assisting an offender by helping Chapman to dispose of the car.
Two motorways have been shut after human remains were found on the road.
Several drivers reported a body on the carriageway between junctions 20 and 21 of the M4 – between Almondsbury and Awkley – at about 6.40pm this evening.
The body is believed to be that of a man in his forties, whose next of kin have been told.
A police investigation to establish how the person came to be on the motorway continues.
Parts of the M4 and M48 motorways near Bristol are likely to remain closed until the early hours of Sunday morning, Avon and Somerset Police said.
In a statement, the force said: “Police are keen to hear from anyone who was travelling along that stretch of the M4 has any relevant information or dashcam footage.”
The road closures were likely to cause significant delays in and out of Wales tonight, with closures starting on the English side of the Prince of Wales Bridge and the Severn Bridge.
Sir Keir Starmer has urged Donald Trump to stand by Ukraine with a security guarantee as he warned a bad peace deal would be a “disaster for everyone”.
The prime minister is due to meet the US president for talks in Washington DC next week amid fragile relations between America and Europe after Mr Trump launched a verbal attack on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The US president called Ukraine’s leader a “dictator” on Wednesday and later said Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron, both of whom will visit the White House in the coming days, “haven’t done anything” to end the war.
Image: Sir Keir Starmer met with European leaders in Paris on Monday to discuss Ukraine. Pic: Reuters
Sir Keir said a good peace “can only be won through strength” and Ukraine “must have a voice in negotiations about its future”.
And he warned that a “peace deal which does not stop Putin from attacking again would be a disaster for everyone”.
Writing in The Sun on Sunday, he said Kyiv needs strong security guarantees “so the peace will last” and America “must be part of that guarantee”.
This could mean providing air defence and a promise that the US will come to the aid of a NATO country if Russia attacks them, the paper reported.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey has said “any negotiations about Ukraine cannot happen without Ukraine. We all want the fighting to end, but an insecure peace risks more war”.
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Will Trump and Starmer have a ‘Love Actually’ moment?
‘Turn the screws’ on Russia
The third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is on Monday.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said he will unveil new sanctions to “turn the screws” on Russia on Monday to coincide with the anniversary.
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Sir Keir also said the UK must increase its defence spending and play a bigger role in NATO.
And he is open to British troops playing a role in any European force in Ukraine after a peace agreement.
He added: “This is not something I say lightly.”
Sir Keir, along with other European allies and UK opposition parties, has backed Mr Zelensky as a “democratically elected leader”.
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Conflicting views over Ukraine deal
Also, Washington has warned that Europe must shoulder more of the cost of its own security.
Sir Keir is expected to use his upcoming trip to the US to confirm a timeline to raise UK defence spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in a bid to ease tensions.
It comes amid pressure from defence chiefs and opposition critics including Tory leader KemiBadenoch, who wrote to the prime minister on Saturday demanding he set out a plan for meeting the target.
:: Education secretary Bridget Phillipson, campaigner for global health and education Sarah Brown, and shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge will be discussing all the latest political stories in the UK and around the world on the Trevor Phillips on Sunday show on Sky News from 8.30am
A three-year-old girl has died after a collision between a tram and a van in Manchester city centre.
The girl was taken to hospital but died from her injuries, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.
“No arrests have been made and inquiries are ongoing,” the force said.
The child was a pedestrian and was not travelling in either the tram or van, GMP said.
The fatal collision happened on Mosley Street shortly before 10am, a Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) spokesperson said.
“All of our thoughts are with her family and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time. We are supporting police with their investigation,” a statement said.
A North West Ambulance Service spokesperson said two ambulances, a rapid response vehicle and two air ambulance crews attended the scene.
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TfGM said there was continued disruption across the Metrolink after the incident and advised people to check the Bee Network website and app for the latest travel information.
Manchester‘s Bee Network said: “Due to a road traffic collision on Mosley Street in the city centre, no tram services are operating between St Peter’s Square and Piccadilly Gardens.”
An X post from GMP’s traffic officers said: “Our officers are currently in attendance at a collision, involving a tram and another vehicle in Manchester city centre.
“We are presently trying to establish the circumstances however we envisage there will be a lengthy closure of surrounding streets near to St Peters Square.”