Dale Cregan pleads guilty to PC murders

The man accused of murdering two police officers in a gun and grenade attack has dramatically changed his plea to guilty.

After initially denying the killings, Dale Cregan unexpectedly admitted the offences after a break in his trial at Preston Crown Court.

The court heard last week how the 29-year-old ambushed PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes after making a 999 call to report a bogus burglary from a house in Hattersley, Greater Manchester, on September 18.

The jury was told that he opened fire on the policewomen as they approached the front door of the house and that as they lay on the floor, he threw a hand grenade at their bodies.

Families of PCs Bone, 32, and Hughes, 23, wept in court as details of the murders were outlined. They heard a recording of the call made by Cregan and watched CCTV footage of the two officers leaving their police station in response.

None of their relatives were in court to hear Cregan admit the murders.

Cregan, of no fixed address, continues to deny murdering a father and son in two separate attacks earlier in the year.

Mark Short, 23, was shot at the Cotton Tree pub in Droylsden, Manchester, on May 25, while his 46-year-old father David was found dead on August 10 following a blast a house in nearby Clayton.

The trial continues tomorrow.

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