Ashley Dale's murder trial shown rapid-fire machine gun

Ashley Dale worked as an environmental health officer for Knowsley Council

The gun used to kill a woman who was shot in her own home was capable of firing up to 15 rounds per second, a firearms expert has told a jury.

Ashley Dale, 28, was fatally wounded at the property in the Old Swan area of Liverpool on 21 August 2022.

Liverpool Crown Court has heard she died when a single bullet from a Skorpion machine pistol hit her.

Five men are on trial accused of murder. James Witham, 41, has admitted manslaughter but denies murder.

Four other men, Niall Barry, 26, Sean Zeisz, 28, Ian Fitzgibbon, 28, and Joseph Peers, 29, also deny murder.

The trial has heard Ms Dale was not the intended target as a gunman burst into the home in search of her partner.

Firearms expert Andre de Villiers Horne held up a decommissioned Skorpion pistol in court to show the jury how it worked.

He said the guns had three settings, one of which allowed the weapon to keep on firing until the trigger was released or it ran out of ammunition.

The jury has been shown CCTV footage of Joseph Peers (left) and James Witham buying beer the night before the shooting

Mr Horne used a large plastic model of a bullet and cartridge to demonstrate in general terms how guns are discharged.

He also explained where bullets had ricocheted or landed in Ms Dale's dining room and kitchen.

The jury has so far been told about 10 bullets that were fired, hitting a wall, washing machine and a bar stool.

When asked by Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, about the fact that the bullets were all fired in one compass direction, Mr Horne said: "As they were all fired in one direction I would favour the proposition that they were fired at a target rather than just randomly."

The front door of Ashley Dale's home was kicked in before she was shot dead

Cross-examined by Richard Pratt KC, defending Mr Witham, Mr Horne agreed that he could not tell in which order the bullets were fired.

Mr Horne also told Mr Pratt he could not exclude the possibility that the target was the building as opposed to an individual.

The jury has already been told Mr Witham claims he did not know Ms Dale was in the house when he opened fire.

Mr Horne agreed some of his interpretations about what happened to Ms Dale were based on assumptions about the height of the gunman and the position of the gun.

The trial continues.

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