A man once branded Salford’s Mr Big has been shot dead.

Paul Massey, 55, was gunned down outside his home on Manchester Road, Clifton, last night.

The businessman, who was once given a 14-year jail sentence in the 1990s after a knife attack on a man in Manchester city centre, spoke to the M.E.N. earlier this year of his ‘hell’ after being on bail for more than three years.

The M.E.N understands Mr Massey suffered fatal injuries after he was shot in his garden.

Last night, several armed officers could be seen on the street and a large cordon was in place.

An eyewitness said he was shot dead by a lone gunman on foot.

The M.E.N. understands that after being shot Mr Massey called for a friend, who raced to his home and was detained by police at the scene before being released.

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Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson said: "People will understandably be alarmed when they hear about this incident which we believe was a targeted attack.

"I would like to reassure the public that we have a heightened level of police officers in the area tonight while we establish the full circumstances of the incident and identify those responsible.

"We are actively following a number of lines of enquiry however, I would urge the local community to come forward if they saw or heard anything in the area this evening.

"I urge anybody with any information about what's happened tonight to come forward. I want to stress that any information received will be treated in the strictest confidence."

A post mortem and formal identification are yet to take place.

Mr Massey was jailed in 1999 after he stabbed a man in the groin, severing an artery.

Since his release from jail, it is understood he has been involved in the security business and acquiring property in the city.

Before his conviction, he was regarded as a ‘target criminal’ by police.

He had reportedly acted as a ‘mediator’ to calm feuds between other gangs elsewhere in the country. In 2012, he stood as an unsuccessful candidate to become Salford’s first elected mayor.

In April, Mr Massey spoke to the M.E.N. after suggestions he had been asked by police to intervene after a series of violent incidents in the city.

But he insisted the rumours were untrue.

The rumours started after four-linked incidents in February and March. In the first, two men suffered gunshot wounds in Irlams o’th’ Height. A man was later attacked with a machete in Agecroft, followed by a grenade attack on a house in Duchy, and the shooting of a man at a car wash in Ashton-in-Makerfield. Mr Massey’s shooting comes just days after two firearms incidents in Greater Manchester.

Shots were fired at a house on Blantyre Street, Swinton, last week although police have described this as a fallout between individuals, not connected with any other crime.

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And on Thursday night a man was taken to hospital after being shot in the leg at a pub in Wythenshawe. His condition is not believed to be life-threatening.

There is no suggestion the attack is connected with the attack on Mr Massey.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.