Shooting suspects' phones placed near park where children hurt

Kian Durnin, Martinho De-Sousa and Tireq McIntosh deny attempted murder of a person unknown

Data collected from cellphone masts has placed the phones of those accused of being involved in a drive-by shooting near the scene, a jury has heard.

Two children were injured after being hit by bullets fired in a "murderous feud" between armed gangs in Wolverhampton, the court has been told.

The 11-year-old girl and boy, 15, suffered leg wounds while in a playground on 1 May.

Three men, all from Wolverhampton, deny attempted murder of a person unknown.

Kian Durnin, 22, of Milton Road, Martinho De-Sousa, 24, of Deansfield Road and Tireq McIntosh, 23, from Valley Road, also deny wounding both victims with intent, possessing two handguns with intent to endanger life and aggravated vehicle-taking.

On Wednesday, prosecutors at Birmingham Crown Court explained cell analysis which mapped the movements of mobile phones linked to the defendants on the day of the shooting.

CCTV footage shows a grey Ford Focus reversing onto the scene while gunshots are fired out of an open window. It swiftly drives away and a black and red Mini Cooper follows the same course.

Jurors heard that between 14:47 BST and 15:11, phones believed to belong to Mr Durnin and Mr De-Sousa appeared to have travelled from Park Village to the scene along the same route taken by the Focus.

The journey of the car had been mapped by CCTV cameras along the way.

The court also heard that data collected from cell masts in the area, appear to show the phones also returned to Park Village after the shooting.

Prosecutor Mr Vincent Scully told the jury that during the trip to Shelley Road, there was no active use by a phone linked to Mr McIntosh.

Defence barristers argued the data shows that the accused's phones were in the area, but does not pinpoint an exact location.

The jury were also told that it is not possible to identify who was in possession of the devices at the time.

The children's playground was "right in the line of fire", the jury had previously been told.

The girl was playing on a climbing frame at the time while the boy was in the car park area on a push bike when a bullet hit him in the leg. They have both since recovered.

The trial at Birmingham Crown Court continues.