A man who shot a gun on a residential street in Oldham, hitting a car with members of a family inside, has been jailed.

At Manchester Crown Court on Friday (January 19), Daniel Whelan was sentenced after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Both Daniel Whelan and his younger brother, Alex, were found not guilty of attempted murder and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm following a trial which concluded last week.

Alex Whelan was also found not guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, however Daniel had previously pleaded guilty to the offence.

Shortly after 7pm on July 5 last year, Daniel Whelan, of Unsworth Way, Oldham, was seen on CCTV footage captured on Great Gable Close speaking to occupants of a Volkswagen Golf in a car park when a grey BMW X3 pulled up near to him.

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The footage showed him passing a white plastic bag to the passengers in the Golf before they exited their vehicle and attacked him, taking the white bag off of him.

The group then turned their attention to the driver of the grey BMW, who was Alex Whelan, 27, as they continued their assault and robbery.

Daniel Whelan, 32, got into the BMW as the robbery continued, before the pair set off in the direction of Horsedge Road, Oldham, driving slowly with investigators assuming it was so they could locate a known target.

Separate CCTV footage showed the BMW coming to a sudden stop before Daniel Whelan got out of the passenger seat and fired a shot containing a 9mm bullet towards a Ford Focus.

However, he missed, with the bullet instead hitting a car which was being occupied by members of a family.

The family was left unharmed but shaken by the ordeal, as they only noticed the bullet hole in the car the following day.

At Manchester Crown Court, Daniel Whelan was sentenced to 12 years in prison for firing the gun.

Detective Constable Andy Pearson of Greater Manchester Police's Operation Challenger Team, said: "Thankfully, whilst no one was injured during the incident, it was clear that there was no consideration shown by Whelan for the safety of members of the public who were in the area at the time, the situation could have easily been very different and could have had tragic consequences.

"Whelan is now behind bars for the foreseeable future which will stop him from committing any potential acts of violence with a dangerous weapon; he is no longer a threat to the people of our communities."