THREATS were made to both men alleged to be the intended targets of shootings, around a month apart, in East Lancashire, a court heard.

Jurors at Preston Crown Court have heard how a house in Beaconsfield Street, Haslingden, was the victim of a shotgun attack, and around a month later, Shabir Begun, an Accrington housewife, was injured when her home in Richmond Road was targeted.

Prosecutor Keith Sutton said Hafizur Rahman, who had been having a debt dispute with his drugs supplier Hasriat Khan, received a number of calls from him shortly before the Haslingden shooting.

He was also contacted by a second man with a Scouse accent, who the prosecution says was Louis Ojapah, who asked him if he had a problem with Khan.

The man alleged to be the gunman in both shootings, Kaseem Nadeem, was in the Haslingden area on the night in question, said Mr Sutton, according to mobile phone evidence.

Several phone calls were also made to Umar Hamid, alleged to be the man behind the Haslingden shooting, and with Hasriat Khan and Ojapah, the court heard.

CCTV footage was recovered, showing a man taking an item from his jacket, before a flash can be seen as the Beaconsfield Street house is shot at.

Later a second man, said to be with Nadeem at the time of the shooting but not before the court, sent a text bragging how they had “let one off” outside a house in Haslingden, alongside a picture of a newspaper clipping relating to the incident.

Mr Sutton said that the intended target of the second shooting, in Accrington, was Waheed Hussain. He had been having problems with another man, Iklaq Hussain.

One of Mr Hussain’s friends, Akib Ali, received a text message, shortly after Mr Hussain’s mother was shot at, saying his mother “was next”, he added.

Nadeem, of no fixed address, denies two charges of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause violence and possession of a sawn-off shotgun.

Umar Hamid, 27, of no fixed address, denies involvement in both conspiracies, Hasriat Khan, 32, of Moorland View, Ramsbottom, denies being part of the Haslingden shooting alone.

Ikhlaq Hussain, 30, of no fixed address, Abid Hussain, 33, and Amer Hussain, 27, both of Higher Antley Street, Accrington, deny involvement in the Accrington shooting.

Louis Ojapah, 26, of Peel Street, Liverpool, denies involvement in the Accrington shooting alone. The trial continues.