THE North-East has seen an alarming increase in drugs-related shootings in recent years:

l Cocaine dealer Bryan Scott, 26, was shot twice in the back with a sawn-off shotgun at Kirkleatham Showground, near Redcar, in March this year. Martial arts instructor Tony Bottrill, 41, is currently on trial at Teesside Crown Court, where he has denied murdering Scott.

l Drug dealer Mark Hornsby was shot in the chest as he sat in the passenger seat of a car in Grove Hill, Middlesbrough, in September 1998. Michael McMenamin, Gary Prior and Hassan Farah were all later convicted of his murder and jailed for life.

l Contract killer Karl Henderson was jailed for life in November 1997 for the murder of suspected drugs dealer Mark Sayer. Henderson shot Sayer twice on the doorstep of his home in Redcar. Henderson's driver, Edward Winter, was also jailed for life.

l Drugs supplier Iftikar Malik was shot through the chest as he went to answer a knock on the door at his home in Hoyle Avenue, Newcastle, in June 1993. Michael Dodson was jailed for life for his murder.