No motive over doormen shooting

Police will be carrying out house to house enquiries

Two doormen have been shot outside a nightclub in Liverpool.

The men, who are 35 and 44, were shot outside the Alma de Santiago nightclub on Penny Lane in the Mossley Hill area of the city at 2230 BST on Friday.

Merseyside Police said they did not have a motive for the attack but believe a gunman travelled to the scene in a dark-coloured hatchback car.

One of the men has stomach injuries and is in a critical condition. The other has leg injuries and is stable.

'Usually quiet'

Penny Lane is closed while officers investigate the shooting.

A force spokeswoman said: "The public will notice a raised level of police visibility in the area."

She said officers would be carrying out house-to-house inquiries.

There has been nothing like this here before Suzanne Zounis, local resident

A resident who lives near the nightclub said: "The city feels like it did when James Bulger was killed."

Speaking about the bar where the doormen were shot, the resident, who did not want to be identified, said: "There has been no trouble like this here before, it is usually quiet.

"The pub changed hands approximately two years ago when it was called The Dovedale Towers. It was a neighbourhood pub then.

"The bar has become expensive and gone upmarket in a bid to improve the area.

"I don't think these shootings have anything to do with the murder of Rhys Jones. I think this is doorman-related."

Penny Lane

Suzanne Zounis, 46, a receptionist, lives opposite the bar and said she heard three shots but did not see anything unusual when she looked out of the window.

"I thought that the noises must have been fireworks or a car backfiring," she said.

"I looked out again later and the police were there with an ambulance crew. I was really shocked. There has been nothing like this here before. There have been fights out there but that's it."

Penny Lane was made famous by The Beatles with the eponymously named hit. Today the famous Liverpool street is hosting an event to mark 40 years since the Fab Four released the double-sided single Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields.

There are no plans to cancel the event, which is one of scores going on during Liverpool's current international Beatles Week.