A £20,000 reward has been offered to track down the killers of the son of a Bolton man who was gunned down in a takeaway.

Halton McCollin, aged 20, died in hospital three days after being shot in Manchester.

Today, exactly three months after he died, his father, who lives in Bolton, is pleading with those who can identify the gunmen to come forward.

Halton McCollin Snr, aged 54, of Astley Bridge, said: "It's a shame it comes down to people only coming forward with information when there's a sweetener involved. But money talks in the community that we live in.

"We can only appeal to whoever has information and is aware of people that the police should be speaking to."

The reward is being offered by the police.

Mr McCollin is still struggling to come to terms with his son's death. It is thought he was the victime of mistaken identity.

Halton, a semi-professional footballer with Flixton, had been due to watch Bolton Wanderers' televised match at Newcastle United at his father's home on January 19.

However, he had been working late at the Norwich Union call centre in Manchester and rang his father saying he was going to get something to eat and relax instead.

At about 8.45pm, he was shot in the China Garden takeaway in Chester Road, Stretford. Witnesses reported two masked men running towards the takeaway from an alley just before the shooting, while a third man walked up the road. One of the killers' three bullets hit Halton in the head. The three men drove away in a blue Vauxhall Vectra.

Mr McCollin senior, a care worker for adults with learning difficulties, said: "Gang culture is not something Halton would be part of. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"There were three other individuals in the takeaway at the time and we find it hard to believe they were not aware of what was going on and who the perpetrators were.

"It is only recently, when I have been laying flowers and putting up a headstone, that I've realised I'm never going to see my son again.

"He is never going to be part of sitting around the table and having a family meal together. That reality is going down hard. The last few weeks have been the hardest. The only thing that could take away some of that hurt is having some justice."

Det Supt Sam Haworth, who is leading the inquiry, said: "There are people out there who know the truth but haven't come forward.

"We understand people are scared, but you must listen when we say we can protect your identity and nobody need ever know that you spoke to us or even appeared in court.

"This might sound impossible, but it is not. There are already people living in our communities who have helped put killers away and nobody is any the wiser."

Detectives urgently need to speak to someone who called anonymously on the night of the murder, giving "significant details" of the reasons for the shooting.

To give information, call the incident room on 0161 856 3691, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.