A MAN is in hospital after being gunned down in Huddersfield.

The 30-year-old victim is recovering in hospital after the shooting outside tower-block flats on Huddersfield’s ring road.

Police are still trying to piece together what happened in front of Lonsborough and Ibbotson flats – at the junction of Southgate with Leeds Road – on Thursday night.

Officers cordoned off the scene in the early hours of yesterday morning after a man with gunshot wounds to his thigh arrived at hospital at 11.45pm on Thursday.

He was still recovering in hospital yesterday but his injuries were not believed to be life threatening.

Yesterday, blue and white police tape surrounded the grassed area in front of the flats, where it is thought the shooting took place.

The cordon stretched from Huddersfield Sports Centre to the traffic lights at the top of Leeds Road, sealing off one lane of traffic.

The flats are named after Huddersfield sporting heroes Anita Lonsbrough and Derek Ibbotson.

As detectives searched for clues, neighbourhood policing officers guarded the alleged crime scene and dealt with worried residents’ concerns.

A woman living in Lonsborough flats was shocked as she left her home to see the police tape.

The woman – who did not want to be named – said: “I went out about 10.30pm last night and came back about an hour later but I didn’t see anything.

“I heard some banging but I thought it was motorbikes. They tend to race up and down here at night.

“This is mad, though. It is getting rough around here. They need knocking down these flats.”

A man who had lived at Ibbotson flats for seven years was also amazed to find a police crime scene on his doorstep.

He said: “I don’t know what happened but when I came back at 1am, I saw the police van and tape here.

“This area used to be safe but I think something is happening. I’m very worried about it.”

A passer-by was also concerned to see the area sealed off.

The woman – who did not wish to give her name – said: “I think it is awful, so close to the town centre.

“It doesn't make you feel very safe and it’s worse not knowing what has happened.”

A West Yorkshire police spokesman said: “We were called at 11.45pm on Thursday night to reports that a 30-year-old man had received gunshot wounds to his thigh following an incident at the junction Leeds Road with Southgate, Huddersfield.

“Detectives are currently working to establish the full circumstances and enquiries are ongoing.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Huddersfield CID on 0845 6060606 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

In December, the Examiner highlighted concerns that drug addicts and drunks were being allowed to cause havoc in the high rise flats.

There was blood on the walls and in the lifts from addicts, and excrement in the corridors.

One security guard said: “It’s disgusting and it’s getting worse”.

Richmond flats is the only one of the three blocks that would survive if plans for a new supermarket are given the go-ahead.

The Ibbotson and Lonsbrough flats – along with Huddersfield Sports Centre – are earmarked for demolition under proposals for a new Tesco on Southgate.