FAMILIES fled in terror as a gunman opened fire outside a pub beer garden. The drive-by shooting sent customers at the Arch Bar, on Stretford Road, Hulme, diving for cover.

Witnesses said people were enjoying an afternoon drink with their children when the gunman struck at 5pm yesterday. A 25-year-old man was hit in a leg and abdomen and was taken to hospital, where he had emergency surgery. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

In a separate incident, police are appealing for witnesses after a car was shot at in Levenshulme.

That shooting happened on Saturday evening at about 8.30. It is thought a group of men approached a black Renault Clio on Collingwood Road and told the driver, a 20-year-old man, to get out.

He drove off but as he did a shot was fired at the car and smashed the back window. He escaped unharmed.

Four of the offenders are described as black men and the fifth offender is described as mixed race.

Target

In the Hulme incident, residents said they heard what sounded like machine-gun fire. One said: "It was a nice day and there were people here with children. To target someone in a situation like that just takes this whole gun thing to another level."

After police sealed off the area a mother, looking visibly shaken, was seen leaving the pub with a child in a pushchair.

Officers could be seen examining what appeared to be bullet damage to the wooden fencing at the front of the pub. A number of bullet casings were on the floor.

An onlooker said: "I live nearby and was in my kitchen when I heard seven or eight shots. When I looked outside I saw women and children running from the beer garden."

Police said extra patrols of armed and unarmed officers have been sent to the area to `deter further incidents and also to provide community reassurance'.

The shooting is the latest in a series of gun-related incidents around south Manchester in recent weeks. Arch Bar is less than half a mile from where 23-year-old Tyrone Gilbert was shot dead in Chorlton-on- Medlock on July 27.

Local resident Christopher Sweeney, 21, said: "This is a dangerous place. I don't know why we all just can't get along."

Anyone with information on either incident is asked to contact police on 0161 872 5050 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.