Olivia accused: I was a mate of hit target

He denies being the gunman in bungled attack

- HOLLIE BONE

THE man accused of shooting Olivia Pratt-Korbel in a bungled hit told a court he has been "friends for years" with the intended target.

Thomas Cashman, 34, denies being the masked gunman who chased Joseph Nee into the Korbel's family home.

Nine-year-old Olivia was fatally shot in the chest by a bullet which perforated the front door and also hit her mum, Cheryl Korbel, 46, in the wrist.

Mr Nee suffered potentially life-changing injuries in the shooting in Dovecot, Liverpool, with bullet wounds to the arm and stomach area.

As the defence opened its case yesterday, Cashman said he had been friends with the Nee family for years and was even at Joseph Nee's mum's house on August 21, the day before Olivia died.

He said: "Joseph Nee and his brothers, they're all my friends, they have been for the last 10 years. We got to know each other through living in the same area. I've never had problems with the Nee family.