A hitman who tried to kill a man in a drive-by shooting has been locked up for 20 years.

Stanislavs Leonovs, from Luton Road, Chatham, left his victim fighting for his life after firing seven bullets at him from the boot of a car.

The murder bid happened in Goodmayes, northeast London, just before 6am on July 1 last year.

Leonovs, 27, discharged seven shots from the boot of a Volkswagen Passat at his 57-year-old victim, leaving him critically injured. He has since recovered.

A manhunt was launched, and police traced Leonovs to a car park near Halfords in Bachelor Street, Chatham on July 16.

He fled the scene, but the VW Passat containing his DNA was found in the car park.

Leonovs was eventually arrested in Gillingham on December 10 after police carried out a series of raids. He was charged on December 13.

"He was willing to take money and attempt to kill someone - the sentence reflects just how serious a crime this was" - DC Peter Harvey

Documentation found during the raids showed he had fled to France after fleeing police in Chatham.

He has now been sentenced after being found guilty at the Old Bailey following a two week trial for attempted murder and possession of a firearm.

He was handed 20 years' imprisonment for the attempted murder and seven years for possession of a firearm, to run concurrently.

The jury was told that while officers had been unable to discover a motive for the shooting, they were able to trace £5,000 being transferred to Leonovs shortly after the shooting took place.

They were also able to link Leonovs to the purchase of the Passat used in the shooting and show that both he and the vehicle made a number of early morning trips to the victim's home.

Officers recovered a Winchester rifle from a garden close to the scene of the shooting and following CCTV analysis, a person matching Leonovs description was shown discarding the weapon.

After sentencing, Detective Constable Peter Harvey said: "I am pleased with the sentence handed out to Leonovs. He is a dangerous man who has shown no remorse for his actions.

"It is incredibly fortunate that the victim lived. The investigation has shown that he was willing to take money and attempt to kill someone - the sentence reflects just how serious a crime this was.

"Our investigation remains ongoing to find out who conspired with Leonovs and who paid him to carry out this shooting."

Anyone with information that could help the investigation is asked to call police on 020 7230 9795, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.