A cage fighter jailed for Britain's biggest cash robbery was left paralysed after he was shot in the neck as he stood in his kitchen, a court has heard. Paul Allen, 46, was lucky to survive after he was hit twice by a gunman who fired at him over a fence from a neighbour's garden, the Old Bailey was told. The "career criminal" had been released from prison after serving a sentence for an armed raid on the Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent in 2006 where £54 million in cash was stolen. He was hit by bullets that passed through a window of his large detached home in Woodford, east London, just after 11pm on July 11, 2019.
Daniel Kelly, 46, and brothers Stewart Ahearne, 46, and Louis Ahearne, 35, went on trial at the OId Bailey on Wednesday accused of plotting to murder the villain. Prosecutor Michael Shaw said the defendants, all from the Woolwich area of south east London, had done reconnaissance and planning for two weeks before the attempted hit. Opening the case, Mr Shaw said: "Gunshots were fired at a man called Paul Allen as he stood in the kitchen at the back of his large detached house. Paul Allen is a career criminal and a very sophisticated criminal at that. He was convicted a number of years ago for his part in what was then, and probably still is, Britain's biggest armed robbery in which £54 million in cash was stolen, much of which is still outstanding.".
Six bullets were fired from a 9mm semi-automatic Glock handgun by a shooter standing behind a wooden fence, next to a summer house, in the garden backing onto the victim's home. Two hit him, one in the throat while the second bullet lodged in his spine, the court heard. Mr Shaw told jurors: "The intention of the men who planned and carried out this shooting was to kill him. You will have no doubt about that when you hear the evidence. They very nearly succeeded." The gunshots were heard "pretty much all over Woodford" and police received a number of emergency calls, jurors heard. Mr Shaw continued: "At least six bullets were fired at him from that Glock handgun, two of which struck him. One hit him in the centre of the throat and left him paralysed for life.
"It was only the rapid intervention of neighbours, police officers, paramedics, and then the skill of surgeons who were able to remove the bullet lodged in his spine, that saved his life." Allen's neighbours heard the loud bangs and the victim's partner, Jade Bovingdon, screaming: "He's been shot. He's been shot.". They found Ms Bovingdon screaming for an ambulance and Allen struggling for breath, slumped in the hallway with a towel pressed to his neck. His little finger had been "virtually amputated" by one of the bullets, Mr Shaw said. Mr Shaw told the jury: "Three of the men who planned and carried out the attack are in the dock at this crown court today.".
Wearing a blue shirt, shaven-headed Kelly sat reading court documents, flanked by court security guards. Clad in a dark suit, with reading glasses perched on his bald head, Stewart Ahearne stood up when introduced to the jury. His brother, in a grey suit and pink shirt, stared straight ahead when his name was mentioned. Mr Shaw said the suspects "made a lot of mistakes" He said DNA belonging to Kelly and Louis Ahearn was allegedly recovered from a fence panel at the crime scene. A sight used for a Glock handgun to improve accuracy was allegedly later recovered from Kelly's home, the court heard. Burner phones and hired vehicles were used to plan the attack, the court heard.
