Police have yet to establish a motive for a shooting that left a 30-year-old man with serious chest wounds.

The man was walking in Ivory Walk, Bewbush, Crawley, on Tuesday night when he was gunned down in a car park.

The man underwent emergency surgery and has not yet been named by police.

People living nearby reported hearing three loud bangs and witnesses saw a dark saloon car speeding away from the scene.

Yesterday, few were willing to talk about the shooting. Those who did said there had been problems in the area involving drink and drugs.

Inspector Kevin Jemmett, of Crawley police, said: "We have not got an awful lot further at the moment.

"We are talking to people particularly about the sounds they heard and who was in the car and how many people there were. The car drove up but we are not sure whether they fired from the car or whether they stopped and got out.

"We have got house-to-house inquiries going on, now that we have finished forensic examinations, and we are questioning the victim as and when we can. Although he is stable, we are very much in the hands of medical staff.

"We are not revealing which hospital he is in. The shooting is a very serious incident and because we have no idea of the motive we would not want to identify to person or persons unknown where the man they shot is."

He said police were considering the possibility the shooting was linked to drugs.

He appealed for anyone with information to call police on 0845 6070999 or to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.