Teenage boy shot five times in Manchester

LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) A 15-year-old boy was in a serious condition in hospital today after being shot five times while another teenager was also hit during an incident in Manchester, police said.

The two victims were with a group of friends in the Ardwick Green area of the city shortly before midnight on Saturday when a silver car with four or five men inside pulled up beside them.

''One of the men then got out of the car and fired shots towards the group,'' a Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman said.

The 15-year-old local boy was hit in the chest, back, groin, buttock and thigh. He is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

A 13-year-old boy from nearby Longsight suffered a wound to his left leg and is in a stable condition in hospital.

Gun crime has been on the rise in Britain in recent years, often blamed on drugs.

Recent high-profile incidents include the killing of female police officer, Sharon Beshenivsky, following an armed robbery in Bradford last November, while in October 2004 Danielle Beccan, 14, was gunned down in an apparently motiveless attack.

The government has introduced tougher sentences for anyone caught in possession of a firearm although campaigners have called for more to be done.

Reuters SK GC1646