A MANHUNT is underway for a gunman who shot two men at point-blank range outside a popular Redbridge nightspot.

Customers looked on in horror as the man strolled up to the pair, at Blue Ice bar, in Cranbrook Road, Ilford, before pulling out a handgun and spraying them with bullets.

The gunman fled the scene immediately after the shooting, at 11.30pm, on Saturday night, leaving the injured men, one of whom was shot in the back, lying bleeding on the pavement.

The pair, aged 25 and 37, received emergency treatment from police and paramedics, before being taken to an East London hospital, where they remain in a serious but stable condition.

The road was sealed off by police for several hours, while officers from Operation Trident, which deals with black-on-black' gun crime in London, examined the scene.

Superintendent Richard Player, of Redbridge Police, denounced the shooting, and said his officers were working hard tackle guncrime in the borough.

He said: "We are a shocked by incidents like this as anybody else.

"Our policy of proactive policing means that people carrying weapons in Redbridge should be constantly in fear that they will be stopped and searched.

"Officers from Trident are dealing with this incident, but we take steps to ensure that our own staff are trained and equipped in order to respond instantly to any situtation.

"We have relatively little gun crime in this borough, but we are working hard to keep it down, through initiatives like our recent gun amnesty."

No arrests have been made so far in connection with the shooting, which was one of nearly 50 gun-related incidents recorded in the borough since April last year.

Anyone with information about the gunman, who was wearing a grey hoodie at the time of the attack, should call Operation Trident on: 020 8733 6217 or Crimestoppers on: 0800 555 111.