The victim of a gangland-style drive-by shooting died moments later outside a police station.

Kieran McGrath, 26, was blasted in the chest as several shots were fired at him after stepping out of the Sheldon Arms in Ashton-under-Lyne just before closing time on Saturday.

As the gunman fled, he managed to stagger into his white Audi A3 and drive to a police station less than a mile away.

He managed to get out of the car but collapsed close to the front door of the station.

Officers and paramedics went to his aid and tried to revive him to no avail. He died at the scene.

As police launched a murder investigation, Kieran’s mother is said to have paid a visit to the scene of his death to lay flowers and pay her respects.

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She, along with his dad, were both being supported by friends and family who gathered at the family home in Clayton.

On Sunday evening, they told the MEN they were devastated and too upset to speak.

Officers cordoned off areas outside Ashton police station and the Sheldon Arms, on Lord Sheldon Way, as patrols were stepped up in the area.

Detectives say the shooting was a targeted attack and are investigating suggestions that he may have fallen out with a number of individuals over the last year.

One witness, Andrew Johnson, 35, from Stalybridge, told the M.E.N. how he had been on his way home from a meal with his wife when he saw Mr McGrath pull up near the police station.

He said: “We coming up to the traffic lights near the M60 junction when a white Audi came flying round the corner.

“As we carried on up the road we saw he had pulled up outside the police station and was basically at the front door. He was lying face down on the ground and was in a really bad way.

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Mr Johnson described how he saw the victim ‘holding his back’.

He added: “Then somebody said he had been shot and there was a hole in his car. I phoned 999 but I also went over the station to let them know the guy was outside.

“Then the officers came out and started tending to him and cleared the area putting a cordon up. Nobody knew what was going on but I don’t think people appreciated how badly hurt he was.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161 856 4711 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.