Mob fixer who protected Steven Gerrard shot dead

A “mob fixer” who stopped a gangster terrorising Steven Gerrard, the footballer, has been shot dead by a gunman on a bicycle.

John Kinsella, 53, was shot on Saturday in Rainhill Stoops, Merseyside. Mr Kinsella, who lived locally, was pronounced dead after emergency services were called.

He had served time for his part in a £41,000 robbery in 2006. During his trial, the jury heard how he was asked by Paul Gerrard, father of the then Liverpool star, to intervene after he said his son was being terrorised by a gangster known as the “Psycho”.