Fugitive ‘laid trap to kill policewomen’

AFP/LondonA one-eyed fugitive lured two unarmed policewomen towards him before shooting them repeatedly and then lobbed a military grenade at his victims, a court heard yesterday.Dale Cregan, 29, wearing a false left eye made of black onyx, had evaded a nationwide manhunt when he set the trap in Manchester, Preston Crown Court was told at the start of his trial. Cregan has pleaded not guilty to murdering policewomen Nicola Hughes, 23, and Fiona Bone, 32, on September 18 last year. He also denies the murders of David Short, 46, and his son, Mark, 23, who were gunned down in the months before.The parents of the murdered policewomen were in court to hear prosecution lawyer Nicholas Clarke describe how Cregan lay in wait after luring them to a house by pretending there had been a burglary. “He lay in wait with a Glock firearm with an extended magazine that was fully loaded,” Clarke said. “Constables Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes attended. As soon as they arrived Cregan shot the officers repeatedly, until his magazine was empty. As he left the scene he again threw a grenade towards the victims.”The prosecution said Cregan was on the run from police at the time after he had shot dead father and son David and Mark Short in two separate attacks. The jury heard that Mark Short was shot at a pub in Manchester on May 25 last year. He died in the arms of his father who had been in the pub toilet when the gunmen arrived. After his son was buried, his father visited his grave every day, but on the morning of August 10 he was at home when his killers came calling. “He was chased through the house and shot many times,” Clarke continued. The trial continues.