A sub-postmaster's son who was shot dead as he tried to defend his parents during an armed raid was the victim of a "ruthless and determined" crime, a jury was told yesterday.

Craig Hodson-Walker was killed during the robbery at the post office and general store in Fairfield, Worcestershire, last January.

Opening the case at Birming-ham Crown Court, prose-cutor Timothy Raggatt QC said the 29-year-old was killed in "the plainest case of concerted and ferocious violence".

He told the jury: "You will probably come to the conclusion, we suggest, this was not a random crime, this was a planned crime. The crime was ruthlessly carried out and carried out with great determina-tion."

Anselm Ribera, 34, Adrian Snape, 25, Christopher Morrissey, 32, and his 33-year-old brother Declan Morrissey deny Mr Hodson-Walker's murder and the attempted murder of his father, Ken Hodson-Walker, who was shot in the leg during the raid.

Mr Raggatt QC said the four defendants worked as a team, trusted each other "implicitly" and had planned the robbery on January 9.

But, he said, their failed attempt to steal money was "pointless" because the shop's safe, which contained £20,000, had a time lock which prevented it from being opened until 9 a.m. - 40 minutes after three of the defendants burst into the store armed with a gun and a sledge hammer.

Mr Raggatt added: "All that Mr Craig Hodson-Walker had done in terms of what led to his death was, you may think, an attempt to defend his parents who were both in the post office and general stores at the time, and their premises, their business, from a group of men who had chosen to attack it."

Mr Snape, Birmingham; Christ-opher Morrissey, of Birmingham; Declan Morrissey, of Solihull, West Midlands; and Mr Ribera, of Birmingham, further deny poss-essing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Mr Raggatt told the jury the gun - which he described as a "team weapon" - was fired three times inside the store. He said: "It is the Crown's case that it was in the hands of Anselm Ribera at the time, but of course it does not stop there because it is in effect a team weapon, you may come to think."

The other three defendants "knew perfectly well" that Mr Ribera had a gun and was prepared use it, Mr Raggatt said.

The court heard that Craig Hodson-Walker was shot first, followed moments later by his father.