A GANGLAND hitman has admitted he murdered a five-year-old boy —13 years after he was shot dead on the streets of Bolton.

Paul Seddon has been interviewed by police after claims were made he had confessed to the killing from his cell.

Greater Manchester Police have yet to officially confirm that Seddon has confessed to the crime, saying only that the probe was launched following “specific intelligence.”

However, a source has revealed to The Bolton News that a full confession has been made.

Cold case cops this week launched a fresh hunt for the revolver used to shoot and kill Dillon Hull in 1997, after reports that hired assassin Seddon had revealed where he hid the murder weapon.

On Wednesday, underwater search teams scoured Mortfield Lodge, off Avenue Street, Halliwell. The 18ft deep fishing lodge is just a short distance from where Dillon was shot, in Bankfield Street, Deane. The search proved fruitless, however.

Supt Martin Bottomley, head of Greater Manchester Police’s Cold Case Review Unit, said: “I can now confirm that Seddon has been spoken to by Greater Manchester Police as part of this ongoing investigation.

“Although it has been 13 years since Dillon was killed and a man convicted of his murder, the case has never been closed as the gun used has never been found and we will always act on new information.” Seddon was found guilty of Dillon’s murder after a trial at Preston Crown Court in 1998. He had always denied any involvement, but was convicted by a jury and jailed for a minimum of 25 years.

Seddon was paid £5,000 to shoot Dillon’s stepdad, John Bates, who had fallen out with gangland drugs boss Billy Webb. Wearing a motorcycle crash helmet, he leapt out of the shadows and fired four shots at the pair. One bullet hit Dillon in the head and another struck his stepfather, who survived.

Billy Webb, aged 42, was later shot dead by a hitman at his Wigan home in 2001.