A man armed with an AK-47 who opened fire at a cinema, shop and house in Liverpool has been jailed for 14 years.

Leslie Garrett started his rampage as he entered an off-licence around 7.30pm on 3 January and shot at the counter, before heading to the Western Approaches pub in the Norris Green area of the city.

There he had a drink, chatted to other customers and even showed off his assault rifle in the back of his Ford Focus to two men, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

From there, the 49-year-old gunman headed to the nearby Showcase Cinema, where he had worked as a security guard for a number of years before being sacked for drinking on the job.

He entered the cinema and pointed the gun at a member of staff, before being followed outside by an existing guard, where he fired shots.

Armed police were deployed as the cinema went into lockdown but Garrett left in his car at speed.

The father-of-one, from Fazakerley, had drunk a bottle and a half of rum that day, the court heard, and next travelled to his girlfriend’s address and fired off more shots before leaving the gun under a mattress at the property.

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He was arrested hours later when armed officers raided his mother’s house and had to Taser him.

Nobody was injured in any of the incidents, and the Czech-made AK-47 was fired a total of 17 times across the night.

Garrett claimed he had been paid £300 to look after a bag of items and only later discovered the bag contained the gun and ammunition.

At an earlier hearing, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, attempted robbery and possession of ammunition without a certificate.

The court heard, in Garrett’s defence, that he had witnessed his brother being run over and killed, and aged nine or 10 he had witnessed a murder, leading to trauma in his later life.

Judge David Aubrey KC jailed the defendant for 14 years.

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Assistant Chief Constable Andy Ryan of Merseyside Police, said “the reckless actions of Leslie Garrett obviously caused a great deal of fear in the local community”.

“Although Garrett’s intentions are not clear, he admitted the offences and will now spend a considerable amount of time behind bars because of his actions on that night.”

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