An 18-year-old is accused of shooting a man in the back, before escaping through a park full of children with his shotgun hidden in his tracksuit, a court heard.

Joshan Addison, 18, of Thornton Avenue, Ilford, is charged with attempted murder over the shooting outside Loxford Park on August 8 last year.

He allegedly blasted the victim, 22-year-old Rhys Bryin, twice in the back with a shotgun, next to a playground filled with parents and children, in Loxford Lane, Ilford.

The court heard Mr Bryin was left requiring emergency surgery after the attack as he attempted to flee the scene. He had to be airlifted to hospital.

An 11-year-old boy unconnected with the incident was injured by a stray pellet which grazed his cheek.

Mr Addison appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court yesterday, where he denied the charge.

Jabir Mohammed, 22, of Cobham Road, and Ali Sheikh, 23, of Buttsbury Road, both in Ilford, are also on trial, accused of assisting Mr Addison and joint possession of the shotgun.

A teenage Ilford boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faces the same charges.

In the opening statement, the prosecution lawyer told the court that the defendants had arranged to meet Mr Bryin outside Loxford General Stores, in Loxford Lane.

He said: “When Bryin arrived and got out of his car, Addison shot him twice at close range with a shotgun.

“He did it to kill him.”

The court heard that after the shooting, the victim “staggered” into the store, where a shop worker called the police and paramedics.

He required surgery after the attack, which saw the cartridges enter his internal organs, and has been left with a scar.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the court heard that Addison walked through the park – which was busy due to the summer holiday – whilst concealing the shotgun in his trousers.

His friends, Mr Mohammed, Mr Sheikh, and the unnamed defendant, “made a frenzied attempt” to hunt down Mr Addison in the minutes following the incident, it was claimed.

The jury will be shown CCTV from residents’ houses along roads surrounding the park, which reportedly captured the trio in the minutes following the incident, and shotgun cartridges were discovered by police in Fairview Gardens, Ilford, later that night.

The court heard some residents heard the trio shout about trying to find Mr Addison, under his nickname “monster.”

In an attempt to evade prosecution, Mr Addison and Mr Mohammed allegedly tried to burn the evidence later that night, behind a supermarket in Chadwell Heath, which the pair deny.

Mr Addison also faces another charge of attempted murder in regard to the 11-year-old and a charge of GBH with intent.

He pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and is standing trial by jury over the three remaining charges.

All four deny the charges and the trial continues.