Manchester's 'Al Capone' gang jailed

Eleven members of a notorious and violent Manchester gang were jailed yesterday for turning the city's streets into something from the "Wild West".

The men, members of the Gooch Gang, were found guilty for their part in the execution of two suspected rivals and running a huge drug-dealing empire following the largest trial of its kind run by the city's police.

"You were all involved in gang related activity which is all too reminiscent of Al Capone and Chicago in the era of prohibition," said Justice Brian Langstaff according to the Press Association.

"Manchester is not the Wild West, but many of you treated its streets as if it were."

Colin Joyce, 29, the gang leader convicted of both murders, smiled and smirked as he was jailed for life at Liverpool Crown Court and told he would serve a minimum of 39 years behind bars.

Detectives said the gang were among the most dangerous men in Manchester. After their arrest, police said there had been a 92 per cent reduction in gang-related shootings in the city.