NINE men were jailed after a feud between two families erupted in violence, a court heard.

A sawn-off shotgun was fired into the air when an 11-strong gang, armed with golf clubs and hockey sticks, targeted Kempton Rise in Blackburn, Preston Crown Court was told.

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The mother of one of the would-be victims was so afraid she told police they she believed they had come to murder my son.

But after the shot was fired, residents in the quiet cul-de-sac, who had also armed themselves with weapons, including a crook lock, fought back.

As one of the suspected gang members fled he was run over by a neighbour’s car.

The same vehicle was then used to ram at least two of the intruders three cars before they drove off to ‘regroup’, the court heard.

Today the gang members who descended on the street are beginning jail sentences totalling 31 years, after a judge described the incidents as a serious public disturbance between two feuding families, the Khans and Hussains.

Alex Leach, prosecuting, said that the incident began when Saghir Hussain was surrounded by at least four men after leaving a funeral at the Chester Street mosque in Blackburn.

One of the four, Yassar Khan, punched him to the head with a knuckleduster, and he was attacked by the others before some people nearby intervened, causing the attackers to flee.

Later the Hussain family was informed that they would be subjected to further violence and a number of cars arrived in Kempton Rise, in Queen’s Park, in a ‘show of strength’.

The court heard that Khan and Suhail Patel, recruited a number of people from the Blackburn, Preston and Accrington area to intimidate residents of the road.

Several cars were secured and weapons including golf clubs were purchased. Mobile phone records show three vehicles moving in convoy from Preston to Blackburn.

Mr Leach said that four men stepped out of the lead vehicle, dressed in dark clothes and balaclavas, and a shotgun was fired in the air. But the residents of Kempton Rise, who had armed themselves with bats and a crook lock, were prepared.

One of Khan’s recruits, Andrew Leigh, was chased away by the driver of a Honda car, which struck him, causing a serious leg injury. One of the three cars used by the convoy was driven into a lamp-post and the interlopers ran away in various directions, within minutes.

Yasser Khan, of 32, of July Street, Blackburn and Patel, also, 32, of Blackpool Road, Preston, will be sentenced today for their roles in the incident, in mid-December 2013.

Khan was alleged to have been in the lead car alongside Leigh, 26, Asar Khan, 30, and Bilal Akhtar, 25. All four were convicted of violent disordered and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

Prosecutors have never identified the actual gunman but Asar Khan and Akhtar were jailed for five-and-a-half years and Leigh for five years.

Six other men - Aleem Khan, 27, of Lambeth Street, Blackburn; Uwais Bagas, 25, of Watling Street Road Mohammed Mussa, 23, of Garstang Road, Syed Razvi, 35, of Ashworth Grove, and Faisal Ghani, 28, of Albert Terrace – all Preston, and Niaz Hussain, 27, of Willoughby Street, Sheffield – were convicted solely of violent disorder and each was jailed for 30 months.

Passing sentence, Judge Byrne said: “This was totally unacceptable behaviour in any circumstances.”