THE victim of a gangland-style killing was sacked after his first night as a bouncer at a town centre pub last month following an incident on the door.

Darren Bell, 31, of York Street, Blackburn, began work at O'Neill's Irish Bar, in King William Street, but left after door staff were involved in an altercation with a group of men armed with knuckledusters. Two men and two women were later accused of attacking door staff but Darren was not charged.

Following the incident the pub manager told Bell's employers, Elite Security, based in Preston, that they no longer wanted Bell to work for them. It has also been revealed that Bell was due to face charges of affray and possessing an offensive weapon.

It is believed one line of inquiry being pursued by detectives is that the shooting followed an argument earlier on Wednesday evening in Blackburn nightclub Utopia.

The group returned to the house in Mona Road after a night out. It was there that three men stormed the house at about 3am, firing a shotgun through the front door and hitting Darren.

He later died on the operating table at Blackburn Infirmary.

Darren's wife Kirsty was yesterday being comforted at her home in York Road.