A GUNMAN dressed in black fired several shots into a crowded dance floor before shooting a security man dead at point blank range, a court heard.

Bristol Crown Court heard how panic ensued at the Spotlight nightclub in West Croydon, where visitor Rufus Edwards was shot dead on the dance floor and security coordinator Mark Warmington was shot at the front door.

Only one hour later, two Bristol women were severely injured after a shooting in Redfield, allegedly by members of a gang linked to the Croydon killings.

Nine men are said to have split into two teams to carry out the near simultaneous shootings in 2004.

In Bristol, Donna Small and Asha Jama were the victims when a submachine gun was fired at close range into the open-top Saab they were passengers in Miss Small suffering a fractured skull and head injuries, and Miss Jama being blinded in her left eye and suffering facial disfigurement.

Yesterday, witnesses at the Spotlight club told the jury what they saw.

Security helper Andrew Clifton said he knew Mr Warmington and had agreed to provide security back-up at the club, in London Road.

He told how, at 3.10am, he heard five loud bangs and almost immediately knew what they were.

He said: "I looked towards the dance floor entrance. As I did, I could see a person all in black, with a hooded top, turn and fire a number of shots back into the dance floor area.

"People were screaming and I lost sight of the person."

Mr Clifton told how he then heard Mr Warmington say: "Hold on."

Mr Clifton said: "I saw Mark tussling with the person dressed in the black hooded top.

"I heard three to four shots, I saw the muzzle flashes and I saw Mark flinch."

Mr Clifton told how he dived through an office window, fearing the gunman would climb upstairs back into the club and shoot anyone in his way.

Wayne Douglas told the court he'd known Rufus Edwards for four or five years and saw him at the Newton Arms in Queens Road, Croydon, where they met Mr Edwards's childhood friend from Jamaica, "Mikey".

Speaking with the aid of a Patois interpreter, Mr Douglas described how the three men went to the Spotlight club and were standing near a bar when he heard gunshots.

He said: "I fell to the ground and crawled into the bar. I couldn't see who did the shooting because my back was turned on that area.

"People were screaming, running about, scrambling and shouting Murder, he's dead!'"

Mr Douglas described how he saw Mr Edwards lying flat on the floor, with blood coming from his back to his shoulder.

He told how Mr Edwards had loaned £25,000 to enable a man called "Chippy" to buy a kilogram of cocaine, and a dispute arose when Mr Edwards wanted the money back because he felt the cocaine bought was poor quality.

Earlier, Nelson King, chairman of charity Community Music Skills, told the court how Friday talent sessions were followed by late-night social events at the Spotlight club.

He described how some 50 people panicked and fled for the nearest exits when they realised someone had been shot.

Mr King described how he attempted to give Mr Warmington first aid.

He said: "I tried to feel for his pulse and there was none. His eyes were looking straight at me and his mouth was wide open.

"I knew then there was nothing I could do."

Mr King added that, some six weeks before Mr Warmington was shot dead, he had been stabbed.

The case continues.