THE net is closing in on a gunman behind a late-night shooting in Darwen.

Police have CCTV images of a vehicle they believe was involved in the attack, which saw an IT worker’s Mercedes sports car blasted with a shotgun in West View, off Knowle Lane, on Friday.

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Detectives made a break-through in the case yesterday, and are believed to be hot on the heels of the perpetrators.

Det Sgt Eric Halford, of Lancashire Police, said: “There’s some CCTV in the area and we have got a picture of a vehicle we suspect to be involved.”

The CCTV image has not been released.

Following the shooting, which left the black Mercedes SLK 250 riddled with holes, specialist crime scene investigation officers scoured the scene and conducted fingertip searches behind a police cordon.

No gun or cartridge has yet been found, although wadding from inside a shotgun shell was recovered.

But police said they still don’t know the shooter’s motive, or whether they fired from inside a vehicle or on foot.

Det Sgt Halford added: “There’s no motive we can see whatsoever. It’s a bit puzzling because we can’t see why this man, an IT worker, has been targeted.”

The gunshot damage to the Mercedes, worth upwards of £20,000, was discovered by its owner, who lives in the street, at around 8.30am. Neighbours, who heard a loud bang at around 1.10am, expressed their shock at the attack, which saw nine police vehicles line the residential street as an investigation was launched.

West View resident Andy Crosby said: “We heard a shot at around 1.30am. A big bang. I thought it was kids letting off fireworks.

“I’ve got two dogs and they were going mad, but I didn’t think anything of it.”

Sudell councillor Roy Davies added: “It is frightening when you think about it, especially in such a quiet street.

“Anything could have happened and we obviously want to know the reason behind it.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting log reference LC-20140905-0289.