From left to right: Kyle Garth, John Abela and Ashley O’Neill

Three men have been sentenced for their parts in an attempted armed raid on a Preston home.

The incident on Tag Lane, Ingol, saw a shot fired through a first-floor window and narrowly missed the couple inside.

Advertisements

The gang were found guilty in April following a two-week trial at Preston Crown Court.

Kyle Garth, 24, of Weeton Camp, Singleton, received seven years in prison for attempted robbery and five years for possession of a firearm with intent to commit and indictable offence.

The court heard how Garth, wearing a balaclava, and his two accompolices, John Abela, of Thistleton Road, Preston and Ashley O’Neill, Balcarres Road, Preston, had turned up at the house.

They intended to rob an associate who they believed had a large sum of money.

Garth had a loaded gun and having failed to get through the door climbed up onto a flat-roof and fired a shot through the first-floor flats living room window.

Gun shot damage to the window on Tag Lane

Abela, 28, was sentenced to six years and nine months imprisonment for the attempted robbery, with five years concurrent for a firearms offence.

O’Neill received 10 years in prison for attempted robbery, with seven years concurrently for firearms offence.

Lancashire Police hailed the sentencing as a warning for anyone thinking of using a gun in Preston.

Detective Inspector Paddy O’Neill from Preston CID who led the investigation said: “I am satisfied with the sentences passed down to these three men as they reflect the seriousness of the incident. The victims were very fortunate not to have been seriously injured by the gun shot.

“I would hope that these significant sentences serve as a warning and as a deterrent to those who think it is acceptable to carry and use firearms with criminal intent in Lancashire. For incidents such as these the public would expect us to undertake a well-resourced and effective investigation to bring perpetrators to justice, as we have in this instance.”