A JURY examining the fatal shooting of a Burnley police officer have been told that it was usual for shotgunners to cover potential threats inside vehicles when undertaking real-life armed response unit 'strikes'.

PC Ian Terry, 32, was shot at point-blank range by a fellow Greater Manchester Police firearms officer, performing such a role, during a cops and robbers-style training exercise in June 2008. He was supposed to have blown out the tyres of the 'villain' car when tragedy struck.

Two officers, named in court only as PC Eric and Sgt Francis, are currently on trial at Manchester Crown Court as part of a Health and Safety Executive prosecution.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy has admitted a health and safety offence on behalf of Greater Manchester Police and the force will be sentenced later.

PC Eric was the officer responsible for pulling together the training package which was being deployed when PC Terry, of Red Spar Road, Burnley, was shot at the former Sharps factory in Newton Heath, Manchester.

Sgt Francis was the designated safety officer. The officer who fired the fatal shot, named only as PC Chris, faces no charges over the incident.

Prosecutors said the training package was 'deeply flawed'. It is alleged it was not authorised by senior officers, there were no proper risk assessments, round irritant personnel practice rounds were unsafely introduced into the scenario and that safety officers were not in a position to intervene physically or verbally with participants.

The charges, denied by both the officers, also cover the allegation that role players, including PC Terry, were not wearing body armour.

Jurors have now begun to hear from officers who attended the fateful training exercise on June 9, 2008 - trial judge Mr Justice Holroyde is allowing portions of their evidence to be heard in secret for police operational reasons.

But one officer, identified only as Oliver, who was on the exercise, questioned by lead prosecutor Andrew Menary, described how shotgunners would often train their weapons on suspects as part of the training.

Oliver said: “If we were performing the tactic live then we would use a shotgunner as cover on the approach to the vehicle, to cover the suspects in the vehicle, so we could respond to if we were threatened.”

But he also told the jury that he recalled instructions, given during a safety briefing by Sgt Francis, that they were told not to point shotguns at role players during the exercise.

Earlier another officer, named only as Harry, told the jury that he had been a safety officer on a similar exercise, staged a week earlier. He said he was 'on the shoulder' of the shotgunner, during the operation, and had issued reminders about pointing weapons at the ground throughout.

Another officer on the June 2 exercise, Ernie, was in the role of shotgunner and had initially raised his weapon but lowered it when he recalled the briefing advice.

The hearing continues.