A teenager was shot in broad daylight as two rival groups feuded in Salford, a jury heard. The 16-year-old boy was blasted as part of a feud between a group linked to Eccles and a rival faction, prosecutors allege.

They claim 31-year-old Kyle Meighan fired two bullets while being driven on a motorbike. The teenager was also riding a motorbike at the time, at about 2.10pm on Sunday, March 19. One bullet missed but the other was a 'direct hit', entering his shoulder and lodging next to his spine.

"It was only by good luck that he survived this attack," prosecutor John Elvidge KC told Manchester Crown Court. Five men are on trial accused of attempted murder.

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Mr Meighan, Philip Broadhurst, 27; his brother Aiden Broadhurst, 29; Jieh Sufyaan, 35; and Andrew Whiteside, 29, have all pleaded not guilty. Mr Elvidge told jurors there had been ‘trouble’ between the rival factions for ‘some months’ prior to the shooting.

“As demonstrated by this shooting, the defendants were determined to do something about it,” the KC said. He said the teenager, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was spotted while riding a motorbike and wearing a balaclava.

Mr Elvidge said the defendants may have believed it was someone else on the bike, but claimed they had a ‘shared intention’ for the biker to be ‘shot and killed’. He said that within ‘40 minutes’ a motorbike and a gun with live ammunition were sourced.

It is alleged that Mr Meighan got on a motorcycle being driven by Aiden Broadhurst and that they chased the bike being driven by the teenager. He was shot on Armitage Street in Eccles, jurors were told.

The teenager was heard to cry in pain and shout ‘I’ve been shot', on video footage played to jurors. He suffered a collapsed lung and was hospitalised, but discharged himself three days later on March 22, ‘contrary to medical advice’. He has 'declined to engage' in court proceedings, the jury was told.

The gun has never been recovered. Jurors were told on the same day as the teenager discharged himself, all of the defendants except Mr Whiteside participated in a session of clay shooting.

Mr Elvidge said: “The prosecution say the simple purpose of this excursion was a deliberate attempt by them to account for the presence of any gunshot residue on their bodies, clothing, or vehicles in any subsequent police investigation.” Jurors were told that in the months prior there had been allegations of attacks on cars, caravans and homes as part of the feud, Mr Elvidge said.

The rival faction had engaged in ‘provocative behaviour’ by riding motorbikes in Eccles, it was said. Following an alleged arson attack involving a car, Mr Meighan is alleged to have texted a friend and said: “Let battle commence.”

Mr Elvidge told jurors: “The prosecution say that Mr Meighan fired the shot, and that he was deliberately assisted and encouraged to do so by the other defendants, and that they all shared an intention that (the teenager) should be killed. Afterwards, the defendants continued to act together to avoid their detection by concealing and disposing of incriminating evidence, including the motorbike and the gun, and by disrupting the recovery of any forensic evidence.”

Aiden Broadhurst, of Manchester Road, Salford; Mr Meighan, of Chancel Avenue, Ordsall; Mr Sufyaan, of Pyrus Close, Eccles; Philip Broadhurst, of Boddington Road, Eccles; and Mr Whiteside, of Bradley Green Road, Hyde; have pleaded not guilty. They deny attempted murder and an alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Proceeding.