Gun that killed Rhys Jones hidden in loft

A teenager told a court yesterday how the gun used to kill 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool was hidden from the police in the loft of his home.

The youth, who cannot be identified, was giving evidence in the trial of alleged gang member Sean Mercer, 18, who is accused of shooting Rhys dead in August 2007, the Press Association reported.

The jury at Liverpool Crown Court was shown police interview recordings with the 17-year-old witness, who has been given immunity from prosecution in exchange for his evidence.

On Wednesday, he said he was given the pistol by Mr Mercer just 20 minutes after the shooting at the Fir Tree Pub in Croxteth, Liverpool.

He said he took the gun, which was wrapped up in a red and white carrier, and hid it under blankets in the dog kennel at his Croxteth home.

Yesterday, the witness said five days after the killing, Boy K, who is also on trial accused of assisting an offender, came to his house and asked for the gun.

The witness said: "(K) came to my house when he knew my mum would be out. He said 'I've come to move that'.

"I said, 'go on then move it. I don't want to be involved in any of this.'"

The witness then told police Boy K walked through the house and into the back garden where the kennel was.

K returned with the gun in his pocket, the court heard.

"He said he was going to put it in my loft and I said 'no you're not, I don't want anything to do with it. I'm not getting involved in all of this'.

"He climbed up into the loft. I could hear some rustling. Then he came down and left."

The jury has already heard the witness's home was later raided by police where, the prosecution says, the murder weapon was found in the loft.

Mr Mercer denies murder while James Yates, 20, Melvin Coy and Gary Kays, both 25, two 17-year-old boys and a 16-year-old boy all deny assisting an offender. The trial continues.