THE execution-style murder of Paul Rothwell sent shock waves through the small world of drug addicts in Blackburn.

Word on who was behind the cold blooded killing spread like wildfire and many people lived in fear for their own lives.

Addicts and prostitutes living in the closely packed streets of Bank Top regularly dropped into each other houses to swap gossip and drugs.

The killing was also a major topic of conversation between vice-girls walking the streets of Blackburn.

Paul Rothwell was smoking crack cocaine in his kitchen with prostitutes Lesley Liddiard and Leah Rodwell seconds before he was gunned down.

Both women saw Hartley come through the back door of the house in Whitehead Street holding a sawn-off shotgun.

And callous killer Kenneth Hartley was so confident people would be too frightened to give evidence he did not even attempt to hide his face with a mask.

Hartley gave his victim no chance to defend himself and blasted him in the head and then in the stomach.

Paul suffered horrific wounds and the two terrified women and the kitchen were covered in blood. Hartley threatened the two women before he disappeared into the backstreets of Bank Top and warned them to keep their mouths shut. Four other people were in the living room of the house at the time of the shooting and word of what had happened spread around the terraced streets of Bank Top in days.

The frightened women frantically tried to clean the blood off their clothes before calling the police. When detectives started to piece together what had happened, people denied witnessing the murder.

A massive investigation was launched and police flooded into the area to solve the murder as quickly as possible.

Hartley tried to get to eyewitness Lesley Liddiard to tell the police that a mystery Asian man had carried out the killing.

Several meetings were set up following a series of phone calls and one tryst between Hartley and the frightened witness was caught on security cameras in Blackburn shopping centre.

However Lesley told the police everything she knew.

A chilling prediction was also made about second eyewitness Leah Rodwell never making it to court.

People were terrified of talking to the police because they knew the shadowy figures who controlled the drugs trade in Blackburn were watching and waiting.

Revenge beatings and violence were often used to control frightened and vulnerable drug addicts.

The shady criminals involved in the killing of Paul Rothwell were also in control of the drugs supply and could cut anyone's precious drug supply out at any time.

Police also knew who had carried out the shooting but wanted to build a water-tight case before moving in on Hartley. The brinkmanship between the police and criminals went on for several days but detectives wanted to make sure they had a watertight case first.

Armed officers eventually arrested Hartley in Penwortham after swooping on a flat rented under assumed names.

The police's offer of safe houses and protective custody helped witnesses.

Detective Inspector Tony Harling of Blackburn CID said: "We are well aware that there are many incidents taking place in Blackburn which never get reported to the police.

"It was vitally important that these people got convicted because it sends out a message to the criminals in the town.

"If these people are not brought to justice then they would think they could get away with anything including murder.

"A case like this proves that the police will do whatever they can to protect people. We will do whatever is necessary and offer them safe houses and put them in protective custody."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.