LONDON - A TEENAGER was jailed for life on Tuesday after being convicted of murdering schoolboy Rhys Jones, the 11-year-old boy shot dead as he walked home from football practice in a crime that stunned the country.

Rhys was hit in the neck in August 2007 by one of three bullets fired across a Liverpool pub car park by Sean Mercer, now 18, who had been aiming at members of a rival gang.

The shooting of the keen Everton supporter behind the Fir Tree Pub in Croxteth in August last year shocked the local community and the nation, and increased concern about gang crime.

'Finally justice has been done for Rhys,' his father Stephen Jones said after the verdict.

Prosecutor Neil Flewitt said the shooting was the result of a violent rivalry between Croxteth's Crocky Crew, which counted Mercer among its members, and nearby Norris Green's Strand Gang.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that immediately after the shooting, Mercer set about getting rid of his clothing, his bicycle and the murder weapon, with the help of six other Crocky Crew members.

Mercer was told he must spend a minimum of 22 years behind bars, the Press Association reported.

James Yates, 20, Melvin Coy, 25, Gary Kays, 26, Nathan Quinn, 18, Dean Kelly, 17, and a 16-year-old boy were found guilty of helping Mercer try to avoid justice. All had denied the charges.

Kays and Coy were jailed for 7 years, while the others will be sentenced at a later date.

The trial heard that Mercer - armed with a Smith & Wesson .455 revolver, which dated back to 1915 and was used in World War One - had not intended to shoot the boy and was firing at three members of the Strand Gang.

CCTV footage showed Rhys crossing the pub car park as he returned from football practice and being distracted by the sound of a bullet striking a container nearby.

He was then seen turning to look in the direction of the container and being struck by the second bullet, falling to the ground where he later died in the arms of his mother, Melanie.

One teenager, who cannot be identified and was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for his evidence, told the court the gun used to kill 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool was hidden from police in the loft of his home.

He said he was given the pistol by Mercer just 20 minutes after the shooting. It was later collected by one of those convicted of assisting an offender.

'Mercer's conduct on 22 August showed total disregard for Rhys and others. Since killing Rhys and during his trial it's fair to say that Sean Mercer has shown no remorse whatsoever,' Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly said.

'We only hope that the verdict will bring home to him the enormity of what he has done and the pain and suffering he has caused.'

The schoolboy's death provoked widespread outrage and condemnation. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called it a 'heinous crime that shocked the whole of the country'.

After Rhys's death, both Everton and Liverpool football clubs held tributes for the murdered schoolboy, while hundreds lined the streets for his funeral at Liverpool's Anglican cathedral.

'From the day Rhys died the kindness shown to us by the people of Liverpool has been immeasurable. For this we will always thank you from the bottom of our hearts,' the boy's father said. -- REUTERS