GUNS UK

Firearms spree & grenades bringing terror to our cities

- SCOTT HESKETH

GUN crime is soaring in some of our biggest cities, the Daily Star Sunday can reveal.

Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Leeds have all seen a surge in firearms offences over the past decade.

The rise is linked to ruthless drug gangs being willing to use weapons to settle scores and gun runners feeding demand by smuggling in weapons.

Only London, where the number of shootings has fallen, bucked the trend.

A source close to the illegal weapons trade said: "There's a network of major criminal gangs in Liverpool, Manchester, Salford, Birmingham and parts of the North East - interlinked criminals who do bits of work together - who can access military grade hardware.