Birmingham last night was coming to terms with another shooting in the Lozells area, as the author of a controversial report into the October 2005 disturbances that resulted in two deaths defended his document.

In the latest shooting, a 21-year-old man was hit when a gunman opened fire near a row of takeaway shops in Lozells Road, police said.

The attack, at about 7.30pm on Wednesday, was near the site of another shooting that 18 months ago left one man, Paul Francis, dead and another, Nathaniel Ellis, wounded.

Police said the injuries of the unnamed victim were "not life threatening" and he had been admitted to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.

Parts of Lozells Road and Wheeler Street were cordoned off as police carried out their investigations.

The shooting is the latest violent episode to hit the troubled Lozells and East Handsworth ward and happened on the day the report into the 2005 disturbances was released.

On Wednesday, Birmingham City Council and the Lozells Partnership Group - which is made up of public organisations such as the police, the fire service and the Commission for Racial Equality - published a report looking into the causes of the clashes that left two men, IT worker Isaiah Young Sam and Aaron James, dead.

The report sparked a war of words between the city council and community representatives, who said they had not been consulted and claimed the study was inaccurate.

Last night, its author Peter Latchford, chief executive of consultancy firm Black Radley, defended the report and said it had taken views of the Lozells' community into account.

He said: "The Lozells Partnership Group provided the report with information from various parts of the local community and I did go and speak to a number of people myself.

"It is interesting that the community are up in arms when it is the city council that comes in for the most criticism."

In the document, Mr Latchford said local leadership had been "found wanting" and he called on the city council to reassess its "models of representation" for Lozells, including elected members.

Mr Latchford said: "I understand the problem is not just with the city council, but with the structure of our democracy as a whole.

"I am not suggesting that some of these problems are not immensely difficult to deal with. But I was commissioned to outline to the Partnership what the public sector could learn from the disturbances."

He added he hoped the document would be used for further debate.

"There can be no simple explanation for the disturbances. As we discovered, there are multiple, sometimes conflicting, accounts.

"The report is the summary view of an independent observer. It is not there to close the debate on how to make progress, but to help move that debate on.

"In such a complex issue, it is inevitable that not everyone will agree with the findings. I would be surprised if they did, since there are learning points for most parties involved, and none will be easy to address."

>> Click here to download a pdf document of the Lozells Disturbances report