South Yorkshire Police issue new gun crime warning as Sheffield shootings are investigated

The force hopes that the sentence handed out will discourage others from using firearms.

Graham Delmar, aged 51, of Aldesworth Road, Cantley, Doncaster, was jailed for six years and nine months for opening fire when three masked turned up at his home brandishing weapons.

The man he shot had to undergo three operations afterwards.

Thomas Maughan, 31, of Marshland Road, Moorends, received 18 months in prison and Nathan Marshall, 25, of Woodlea Grove, Armthorpe, was handed a 25-month sentence for their parts in the incident.

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Detective Sergeant Claire Moss, from Doncaster’s CID team, has reassured the public that officers will “take proactive steps to take down organised crime across our region”.

She added: “We are pleased that three violent offenders have again been removed from our streets, and hope that the sentence for Delmar in particular serves as a warning to anyone else thinking of getting involved in the use of firearms”.

In the year ending March 2020, there were 111 firearm discharges recorded by South Yorkshire Police.

Gun crime also hit a record high in South Yorkshire during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, figures show.

Lockdowns and other coronavirus restrictions contributed to gun crime dropping nationally in the year to March, but South Yorkshire Police recording its highest number since records began.

Home Office figures show South Yorkshire Police recorded 295 crimes involving firearms that year.

In a recent shooting in Sheffield, rival groups opened fire on Gell Street, Broomhall.

There were no reports of injuries being sustained but police did find evidence of gunfire.