Two jailed for pub killing

Mr Clay was shot as he stood in the pub doorway

Two men have been jailed for life after shooting a man dead in a pub when he intervened during a row they were having with the doormen.

One of the killers was also sentenced to 15 years for the attempted murder of another man in Greater Manchester, whom he shot the day after killing Peter Clay.

Mr Clay, 32, died on Good Friday this year, at the Clarendon Pub in Market Street, Hyde, where he had been enjoying a quiet drink.

On Thursday his killers, Adam Smyth and Michael Muldoon, were found guilty of his murder, after they shot him twice in the doorway of the pub.

Police said they were only "relatively pleased" with the outcome of Smyth and Muldoon's trial, because Mr Clay lost his life "so unnecessarily."

Mr Clay, who died from his injuries after being taken to Tameside General Hospital on Friday 29 March, left behind two sons from a previous marriage.

'Dangerous men'

Smyth, 22, of Garfield Avenue, Levenshulme, and Muldoon, also 22, of Agnes Street, Levenshulme, had been arguing with the doormen who spotted them smoking cannabis.

Despite Mr Clay's death, Smyth went to another pub the night after and shot another man.

Dressed in a balaclava, Smyth went to the Farmers Arms, in Stockport Road, Levenshulme, at about 2300 BST, and shot the 25-year-old four times. His victim later recovered.

Sentencing Smyth and Muldoon on Thursday, Judge Sir Rhys Davies QC told them they were "very dangerous young men who killed a decent man without remorse".