A gunman who almost killed a gangland rival in a double shooting has had his appeal against the length of his sentence dismissed.

Joel Andrew Keenan of Bedfont Road, Feltham, was sentenced to an indefinite period of imprisonment for public protection and ordered to serve at least 14 years before he can even apply for parole.

He had been found guilty of grievous bodily harm and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, which he admitted, and attempted murder of which he was found guilty.

Paul Andrew Goodman, 36, of St Albans Road, Royston, Hertfordshire, who was convicted at Cambridge Crown Court last July of the attempted murder of David Sadiku and jailed for 24 years had his sentence reduced by four years.

A third man, Hasan Mahmud, 24 of Orchardson Street, Paddington, who was found guilty of conspiring to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, had his sentence reduced from 12 to nine years.

The three men's convictions were based on a wealth of mobile phone evidence, which accurately mapped their movements as they travelled between Watford, London and Milton Keynes on August 19 and 20, 2005.

It was the Crown's case that, after an altercation between Keenan and Mr Sadiku, he met with Goodman and Mahmud and persuaded a drug addict they knew to lure their victim to a housing estate in Old Farm Park, Milton Keynes.

When Mr Sadiku arrived he was shot at as he sat in his car, but managed to escape injury, and then telephoned Keenan to taunt him about the failed shooting.

The following day, Keenan hired a red Renault Megane and drove to Watford, where Goodman took over the driving and took the pair, without Mahmud, to Milton Keynes.

Once there, they drove around looking for Mr Sadiku and, after finding him, Keenan fired six shots, hitting him three times. He was hospitalised, but made a full recovery.

The three men were arrested seperately between September 2005 and March 2006.

Keenan's counsel argued that his case was mitigated by the facts that there was only one victim, he had pleaded guilty to the GBH charge and that there had been an alleged element of provocation from Mr Sadiku.

Giving judgment Mr Justice Forbes said: "These were very serious crimes indeed.In both cases firearms were used and in each case a different firearm was used. The offences involved the use of firearms in public places and in each case repeated shots were fired by the gunman.

"In the case of the shooting of August 20, Keenan actually fired six shots at a fleeing and unarmed man, hitting him three times, and carrying out this conduct in a public area of Milton Keynes where the risk of injury to innocent members of the public was extremely high."