CONTRACT killings are becoming more frequent in Britain - and it's never been easier to find a murderer-for-hire, claim former gang members and crime experts.

Incredibly, some of these are teenagers who are paid as little as a few hundred pounds - or even just a box of weed - in return for taking someone's life.

Former gang member Jermaine Lawlor told Sun Online that the number of hits carried out on British streets is rising in line with increased gang activity.

Sometimes, junior gang members are paid by more senior gang members to kill a rival - partly because under 18s aren't always subject to the same harsh sentences if they're caught .

Jermaine, who now runs Voice4YouthAgainstViolence, says children as young as 14 or 15 can end up killing for cash on our streets, eager to impress those higher up in their gang.

He adds: “Payment can be up to £100,000. Some people would do it for less – a box of marijuana. The drugs are worth more to them than another person’s life.

Experts agree that the recent spike in Britain's murder rate - which rose 12 per cent in the last year excluding terror attacks - may be due in part to an increased numbers of paid-for hits.

Criminologist David Wilson said: "If you want to earn quick cash, progress up a gang hierarchy and you are willing to take another person's life, then these circumstances are common in some of our major cities."

Online requests for killers
Ealier this month, a fake dark web site claiming to offer hitman services was in the news after users including a senior NHS doctor were exposed for inputting the personal details of their partners and rivals.

And while most of the more serious attempts to recruit hitmen take place under the cover of the dark web, the subject also frequently crops up on the conventional internet.

Message boards like Reddit contain countless questions about hitmen. Some are clearly jokes, or stories cooked up to scare people, but other users seem to have earnest enquiries about contract killing.

"What is the punishment for hiring a hitman?" one post asks.

One more user asks: "Realistically, if I (hypothetically) wanted to hire a hitman what would be the cheapest and most efficient way to do so without getting caught?"

The chilling case of the schoolboy shooter
Experts say it's impossible to quantify exactly how many hits are attempted or carried out on British streets, since police have no way of knowing whether any given murder was the result of a hitman.

The most elite assassins are thought to be able to evade detection entirely, and an unknown number are operating completely under the radar.

While these experienced killers could make as much as £100,000 for a hit, the typical amateur hitman will be paid just £3,000 per job.

And some of Britain's killers for hire will sink to these depraved depths for even less.

One of the most shocking cases involved schoolboy assassin Santre Sanchez Gayle, who was just 15 when he shot dead 26-year-old Gulistan Subasi.

Gayle was a low-ranking member of a London gang who agreed to kill the mother of one in 2011 to boost his standing on the street.

For a fee of just £200, he armed himself with a sawn-off shotgun and took a taxi to the victim's home, where he blasted her on her own doorstep.

He spent the money on a Dolce and Gabbana beanie and was only caught because he had been bragging about the kill to his friends.

The person who commissioned the kill, meanwhile, was never caught.

Murder deals down the local pub
Criminologist David Wilson says hitmen are common enough in Britain today that you don't even need to get online or be in a gang to contact them - you could find one in your local pub.

He says these amateur assassins are often down-on-their-luck guys who are looking for a quick buck.

"These ordinary blokes will perhaps say something down the pub like 'I'd do anything for three grand'," David explains.

"Somebody then says the following day: 'We'll give you the three grand if you take out my business partner or my ex-wife.'"

In many cases, the ensuing hit will be botched.

Amateur killers can't easily get hold of guns, and so many have to rely on kitchen knives or blunt weapons like bats or hammers.

Contract killers in the underworld
British professional killers, meanwhile, include 62-year-old gunman David Harrison and Hertfordshire hitman Roger Vincent.

The 33-year-old became the first man to use an AK-47 assault rifle on a British street when he and his accomplice gunned down gangster David King - AKA "Rolex Dave".

However, David says the hitmen whose names we know aren't the ones we should be most worried about.

He believes there is also an unknown number of "master" hitmen out there who are so good at killing they've never been caught.

These are the murderers who make the most money from their hits, and who tend to only work for the most ruthless crime gangs.

How Brit gangs are breeding killers
Most real-life killers are distinct from characters like Agent 47 from the Hitman film and video games, or like the patient assassins in classic film In Bruges.

Real hitmen don't operate in smoky bars and briefcases stuffed with money don't change hands after a kill.

"The reality of British hits is that they don't take place in the underworld but in the overworld," David says.

"Often in the suburbs, in front of passers-by."

Dr Elizabeth Yardley warns hitmen are likely to be connected with rising gang activityBirmingham University criminology professor and author of Exposing The British Hitman, Dr Elizabeth Yardley added: "A lot of hits go on within the world of organised crime but for your average Joe who wants to bump off a love rival they're unlikely to have those connections.

"It's people like that who you'll find fishing around on the dark web."

supports him
And now it's feared that numbers of paid killings could rise against the backdrop of gang violence and poverty in British cities.

"For years and years we've been told that violent crime is on the decline and that society is a safer place to be," criminologist Elizabeth says. "But the recorded numbers of murders and violent crime have gone up in the past couple of years.

"It's something that people are uncomfortable to research but this is a major problem and it's only going to get worse."