A TEENAGE boy has described seeing blood pouring from Rhys Jones after watching as he was gunned down.

The 16-year-old told jurors he “couldn’t believe what I seen” as he saw the schoolboy topple to the ground.

The witness, who cannot be named, described walking with friends close to the Fir Tree pub, Croxteth, when he heard a loud bang.

Two more blasts rang out and he watched in disbelief as the 11-year-old collapsed to the ground.

Giving evidence in a video interview, the youngster said: “As we turned round, we seen him fall, it might have been the second shot hit him, I’m not sure.

“I just saw a hole in the back of his head and there was blood squirting out.”

The teen told how he ran over to fatally-wounded Rhys, but was too shocked to help him.

“I put my hand over my mouth, I just turned round. It made my stomach turn over.”

The Everton fan told how earlier that evening he had been playing football with three friends, close to where Rhys was practising with the Fir Tree under-12s.

The group were wandering over to the chip shop on Langley Close when the shooting took place at about 7.30pm.

Rhys was hit in the neck by the second bullet as he walked home from football practice, and later died in his mother Melanie’s arms.

The teenager added: “It weren’t intended for Rhys.

“As soon as we seen Rhys falling, we saw two lads on bikes going across. Don’t know if it was intended for them.”

The prosecution allege Croxteth Crew member Sean Mercer had been firing at members of the rival Norris Green Strand Gang.

The 18-year-old, of Good Shepherd Close, Croxteth, denies murder.

Earlier in the day, a young boy described seeing a hooded gunman fire the fatal shots.

The youngster, who was just 10 at the time, was sitting outside the pub with family when he noticed the youth cycle up.

The softly-spoken boy said he could not see the gunman’s face, but described him as dressed in a black jacket and tracksuit bottoms with a black hood over his head.

He also described seeing the barrel of the gun, before standing to demonstrate how the shooter had stood as he fired the weapon.

The boy said he watched the gunman, who was standing astride a black bike, for about three to five seconds before he fled the scene by cycling down an alleyway.