The biker feud lasting for 40 years

By Peter Wilson
BBC News correspondent, West Midlands

This weapon was recovered from the airport fight scene

Eight members of rival biker gangs the Hells Angels and the Outlaws have been convicted of taking part in a riot inside a Birmingham airport terminal.

The court heard the two gangs had a long-standing rivalry dating back more than 40 years.

Gang members came to meet Flight ZB499 from Alicante armed with machetes, iron bars, knuckle dusters, knives and meat cleavers.

One witness described seeing a man wielding a samurai sword.

But the two warring factions who clashed were not Japanese warriors but biker gangs.

The fight at Terminal Two in January 2008 lasted just 60 seconds but dates back more than 40 years to a feud between the Hells Angels and the American Outlaw Association which began in 1969 and, according to detectives, continues to this day.

Global biker wars

Some have called it the "global biker wars".

Members of the Wolverhampton-based chapter of the Hells Angels and members of the Birmingham Outlaws clashed after members of both gangs realised they were on the same plane arriving from Spain.

More than 30 people from across the West Midlands gathered at the airport.

Police say the real motive for the riot could be the Outlaws' move to open a new chapter in Spain, which is seen as Hells Angels' territory.

While bikers in the UK are traditionally seen as relatively peaceful there has been a vast expansion of chapters across the globe since the 1990s. This growth has also been linked to organised crime and increasingly bitter violence as rival gangs have fought over the drug trade.

The Hells Angels and The Outlaws have chapters in the Midlands

Both gangs have history in the Midlands.

Just five months before the airport riot, Hells Angel Gerry Tobin was riding home from the Bulldog Bash in Warwickshire when he was shot dead in an execution-style killing on the M40.

The seven men jailed for his murder were the entire Chapter of the South Warwickshire Outlaws, based in Coventry.

In recent months biker violence has flared around the world.

Exactly the same scenario as the Birmingham Airport riot was repeated in Australia. At Sydney Airport in March this year a member of the Hells Angels was beaten to death.

His murder has sparked a series of shootings and calls for the government there to ban motorcycle gangs.

In Denmark a hand grenade was thrown into a cafe used by bikers - again ministers are due to meet to discuss tough new laws to crack down on biker gangs.

Silence code

The biker gangs have a strict code of silence. None of the men who appeared at Birmingham Crown Court were prepared to speak to the police let alone give evidence in court.

The men convicted in this crime see themselves as members of the "1%'s" - elite members of the Biker Gangs who see themselves as being above the law.

Some of the accused had just arrived on a flight from Spain

The logo worn by the Outlaws on their back patch is the skull and cross pistons known as Charlie. Their motto is "God forgives, Outlaws don't".

One Outlaw who was not in court was named during the trial as a prime instigator of the violence which erupted at Birmingham Airport. Captured on CCTV, he was referred to as Bandana man.

The trial was one of the most expensive ever held in the Midlands.

It is believed to have cost more than £2m in legal and security costs alone.

All of the men on trial were on bail and police convoys escorted both gangs to and from their club houses.