As series 4 of Murdertown, narrated by Silent Witness star Emilia Fox, is released on Sky, charting events leading up to the killings of John and Joan Stirland in their seaside chalet on the Lincolnshire coast, Legal Affairs Correspondent Rebecca Sherdley looks back on the case
A security 'ring of steel' guarded Birmingham Crown Court as one of the most feared gang bosses in Britain went on trial. On Colin Gunn's arrival to the courtroom via police escort from prison, a helicopter swirled overhead, and armed police guards were stationed at the door.
Visitors were quizzed about their interest in the case, where they were from, and names noted by police sentries to the courtroom. Mobile phones were surrendered and locked away, only returned on leaving.
READ MORE: New documentary charting seaside killing of John and Joan Stirland linked to Colin Gunn
This became routine at Birmingham Crown Court as I covered the trial of Colin Gunn and his henchmen, purposefully held away from their home turf of Nottingham. Jury selection took some time. It was to be a lengthy trial and, of course, was incredibly high profile.
Gunn could not be named as he faced a second trial for police corruption. Once the outline of the evidence had been heard, how the accused plotted the murder of John and Joan Stirland in 2004 - then the complicated part began.
The conspiracy to murder the Stirlands, slain by unidentified gunmen on a hot summers day in their tiny chalet-style bungalow was circumstantial, and the case relied heavily on CCTV footage and the use of mobile phones.
Two weeks alone was dedicated to the phone evidence. Each defendant was given a colour for the jury to identify phone traffic.
Gunn was trapped with evidence of mobile phone calls made as he spent time in Trusthorpe, where the Stirlands had moved to from Carlton, as he gathered information on them.
CCTV showed co-accused John Russell and Michael McNee walking past the reception at the Kingfisher caravan site at Ingoldmells. DNA, matching Russell's and McNee, was discovered on two toothbrushes in a trailer at the caravan park, the court had been told.
DNA, matching Russell's, was also found on six cigarette ends, and McNee's on a glass in the caravan's kitchen. The trial lasted three months and the jury took more than a week to deliver its verdicts.
Colin Gunn was a big man, who said very little, and denied all allegations. He did not give evidence at the trial over the Stirland murder plot, yet he held an eerie commanding presence in the dock. The only time I heard Colin Gunn speak was when he received his guilty verdict.
He turned to the jury and said: "Thank you, you scumbags". Gunn, co-accused John Russell and Michael McNee, were jailed for life for conspiring to murder John and Joan Stirland.
Gunn received a minimum of 35 years, Russell was to serve at least 30 years, and McNee, then 21, was handed a 25-year term. Mr Justice Treacy had told Gunn he had orchestrated the plot: "You were certainly involved in murders of the utmost gravity. You put forward a dishonest and cynical defence showing no remorse. It shows you to be a man who would let nothing stand in your way and I am sure you would do it again".
The Stirlands were shot at their home in Trusthorpe, Lincolnshire. The quiet couple had been relaxing in the tiny bungalow, separated from the road by a neatly tended garden and a white picket fence, when the gunmen, in blue boiler suits, walked in and shot them both with two Italian-made Beretta handguns.
A police officer went to the property on a routine call to follow-up a report of a prowler had found their bodies later that night. It soon became clear that the key to their murders lay not in the peaceful village of Trusthorpe, but in Nottingham, where the couple had lived most of their lives.
They had fled the city after Mrs Stirland's son, Michael O'Brien, shot dead Marvyn Bradshaw outside the Sporting Chance pub in Bulwell in August 2003. Beside him in the car was Gunn's nephew, Jamie Gunn, who later died from pneumonia. This was the catalyst for Colin Gunn, Russell and McNee to take revenge on the Stirlands, a completely innocent, law-abiding couple.
After Gunn was sentenced in June 2006, his corruption trial got under way the following year. His conviction was three years to the day after the death of Jamie.
Gunn received nine years for the corruption of PC Charles Flecther, stationed at Radford Road, in a bid to glean secret information from police files. He was caught after he absent-mindedly left two A4 pieces of paper in his mum's waste bin in Raymede Drive, Bestwood Estate. The paperwork contained police intelligence about himself and cars he was linked to.
Fletcher had faxed intelligence reports from Radford Road police station to a middle-man who passed the intelligence to Gunn and others. Gunn was the only offender left to stand trial on two charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public offence.
Again, I was in a courtroom with Colin Gunn, briefly this time. He decided he would stay in his cell throughout most of the hearing after sacking his legal team. However, he did turn up in the dock for the judge's summing up.
He left the dock for his sentencing. Gunn had told the judge that he would not be returning that afternoon, even though the judge said he would sentence Gunn if a verdict was delivered. Gunn had said: "I'm really not bothered or interested".
After he was convicted, the media could finally reveal Gunn's name, and his 20-year hold over the Bestwood Estate was over.
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