A man has been killed in a gun attack in Liverpool, the fifth shooting in the city in less than three weeks.

The victim, believed to be in his early 20s, was found in Acorn Court, Toxteth, Liverpool at 2300 GMT on Wednesday night.

Merseyside Police said he died from gunshot wounds, and a post mortem examination is due to be carried out later on Thursday.

A spokeswoman said officers were conducting high-visibility patrols in the city but it was not yet known whether they were linking the murder to other recent incidents.

Spate of shootings

A clubber was shot dead in the city last weekend, and there have been three other shootings in the last three weeks.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Francis Cross, 19, was killed and his friend, Michael Kielty, also 19, left seriously injured after a gunman opened fire outside the Pulse club near Lime Street station in Liverpool city centre.

A day earlier, shots were fired at a house in Oak Lane, Croxteth, while last week a man suffered slight injuries when a gunman opened fire from a moving car at an address in Queens Drive.

The previous Saturday a doorman and six clubbers were injured when a masked man fired shots outside Buro Bar in Liverpool city centre.

And a week earlier, at New Streets bar on nearby Hardman Street, another doorman was injured when a gunman opened fire from across the road.