A WALTHAMSTOW man as been jailed for three years for gun offences following a feud between rival drugs gangs.

Joseph Pitkin, aged 32, of Verulam Ave was found guilty of possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition.

He was found not guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Sean Stewart, aged 30 Edmonton, was found not guilty of the attempted murder of Dwayne Dyer, from Walthamstow.

He had previously been found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of ammunition.

He will be sentenced at a later date The Old Bailey was told that a incident happened at approx 2.40pm on January 25, 2003 when Mr Dyer was in a parked Rover car at the junction of Brick Lane and Shacklewell Street in Whitechapel.

There were at least three or four other men with him in the car or nearby.

The court heard that a group of three black men approached the car. It is believed all were armed with guns - two of the men had them concealed in their clothing.

One of the men inside the Rover beckoned the three suspects towards him as if inviting a fight.

By this point all three of the suspects had produced their weapons.

They then all fired into the Rover discharging between ten to 15 bullets.

Mr Dyer, was shot in his lower spine and a further glancing wound to his head.

The Rover made off and was abandoned in Great Sutton Street where at least three men left the vehicle.

The suspects then walked towards a parked Saab in Bethnal Green Road and made off.

Mr Dyer was taken to hospital and discharged after treatment.

Stewart and Pitkin were arrested in Peterborough later that month.

They had been seen by police to throw a dark object from the car, later found to be a loaded handgun wrapped in a woolen glove.

t was tested and proven to be a weapon used in the Brick Lane incident on 25/1/02.

DI Nick Linfoot from Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime in the black community, said: "The three gunmen showed blatant disregard for members of the public as they fired at the Rover.

"In fact a man simply driving his car in the area at the time was lucky not to be killed after a bullet smashed through his front windscreen and flew past his right ear.

"This shooting was part of a drugs feud between two rival groups operating in the area at the time which had resulted in a number of incidents.

"We are pleased with these convictions of two very dangerous men which again demonstrates Trident's commitment to working with the black community and tackling gun crime."