THE SENTENCING OF four men found guilty of conspiracy to murder charges in Newport yesterday brings to an end a shocking saga played out on the streets of Newport.

The four; Ryan Battersby, Lewis Bridge, Brogan Hooper and Gary Rabjohns, had all denied being involved in a plot to murder two men whose car they rammed and shot at in a city street.

Found guilty in recent weeks they were yesterday each sentenced to serve 12 years in prison.

This is a hefty sentence but, in our view, one which is proportionate given the seriousness of their crime which left one man having to have a shotgun pellet removed from the back of his head.

As the judge commented it is fortuitous that none of the occupants of the car they rammed was killed or seriously injured.

This was a well-planned attack and one which was carried out with absolute disregard for the safety of anyone else who happened to be around at the time.

After the incident those involved tried to carefully dispose of evidence and cover their tracks following the attack. This was a gang who thought they could get away with it.

And as the trial went on it lifted the lid on a sordid tale of drugs, money and revenge shootings between rival factions in Newport and Cardiff.

Four key players are now off the streets and we should be thankful for that.