A GANGLAND hit team carried out a reconnaissance trip to plan the murder of a mob fixer two days before they tried to kill him, a court has heard.

Alleged gunman Mark Fellows, 38 and from Orford, and his alleged accomplice Steven Boyle, 35, were allegedly seen in the area where 'notorious' gangster John Kinsella, from Liverpool, lived and walked his dogs on April 27 this year.

It is alleged Fellows was at one point just seconds behind the target they planned to kill, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

The jury was shown CCTV footage from the day allegedly showing the defendants travelling to the area, Boyle on a distinctive black Yamaha MT10 motorbike and Fellows on a GT Avalanche Sport bicycle.

The pair spent 90 minutes in the area.

Relatives of Mr Kinsella wept in the public gallery as CCTV was shown of him walking four dogs.

Five seconds later Fellows was allegedly recorded wearing a high-visibility jacket and pushing his bike in the same spot.

But two days later they arrived just too late to carry out the alleged murder plan, the jury heard.

Instead it the court was told they had to wait until a week later when, on May 5, Boyle, allegedly acting as the 'spotter', saw Mr Kinsella, 53, and his partner Wendy Owen walking their dogs close to their home in Rainhill, Merseyside.

The court was told Fellows travelled from his home eight miles away in Warrington on his bike and allegedly opened fire, shooting Mr Kinsella in the back.

The court also suggested he shot at Ms Owen, who was pregnant and fled, before standing over Mr Kinsella and shooting him twice in the head from close range, the jury was told.

Fellows and Boyle both deny the murder of Mr Kinsella and that of his friend, Salford 'Mr Big' Paul Massey, 55, three years earlier.

The prosecution claims both victims were associated with Salford gang the A Team, who were 'at war' with a rival gang, who the defendants were with.

Mr Massey was sprayed with Uzi machine gun fire outside his home on the evening of July 29 2015.

Again it is alleged that Fellows was the gunman who rode on his bike to be in place to wait for his victim while Boyle acted as spotter.

Fellows, of Warrington, and Boyle, from Heywood, Greater Manchester, both deny the murders and the attempted murder of Ms Owen.

The trial continues.