Gun victim's son makes new appeal

Andrew Boland was shot in front of his partner's children

The teenage son of a man who was gunned down in his own home is appealing for help to trace the killers.

Andrew Boland, 35, from Stretford, Greater Manchester, was shot by two masked men who burst into his home on 24 March 2004.

Jamie Blakeley, 19, has spoken for the first time about his father in the hope that witnesses will come forward.

Det Supt Tony Cook said the force was getting closer to tracking down Mr Boland's "cold-hearted killers".

Mr Blakely, from Salford, was 17 when his father, a known drug dealer, was shot in the chest in the hallway of his home.

"Dad's always on my mind I miss him so much," said Mr Blakely.

"The most difficult times are when my younger brother and sister ask me where daddy is and I have to try and explain to them somehow.

"At the times when they want their dad they are now turning to me."

It's vital that the killers are found and brought to justice so that Jamie and his family can begin to move on Det Supt Tony Cook

In January, armed police raided a house in Ashton-on-Mersey, Sale, in the hunt for the gun used to kill Mr Boland.

Mr Cook, leading the investigation, said it had been a "difficult couple of years" for Mr Blakely and praised him for speaking.

"Jamie is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his dad and it's vital that the killers are found and brought to justice so that Jamie and his family can begin to move on," he said.

Mr Boland, known as Bo, was at home with his partner Angela, 33, and her two young sons at the time of the attack.

Her nine-year-old son answered the door to the two men - one carried a gun, the other was brandishing a brick.

The gunman pointed his weapon at the child's head and told him: "Go upstairs before I shoot you."

Angela's 11-year-old son hid in the kitchen while the masked men shot Mr Boland in the chest in the hallway.

His attackers are described as white, one 5ft 6ins tall, the other 5ft 7ins tall. Both were wearing dark clothing.