A man who had a gun pointed at his head before being shot in the arm was petrified when he was confronted by the burly defendant, a jury hears.

Richard Bowser kicked off at Tan Hill Inn when his bank card was declined when he tried to settle his bill before attacking staff and customers.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 46-year-old fired a pistol three or four times into the door of a bunkhouse – one bullet lodging in his alleged victim’s arm and two others grazing his body.

Bowser was charged with two counts of attempted murder after he allegedly targeted Lee Jackson outside the bar before he followed him to the outdoor toilets and threatened him with the gun.

Jurors heard how Mr Jackson’s brother-in-law had been assaulted by the accused and he went to check on him in his camper van before bumping into an ‘aggressive’ large male who escorted him to the toilet block.

Giving evidence, Mr Jackson said he was petrified of the defendant and tried to hide in the bunkhouse but Bowser fired the gun through the door just moments after holding the weapon to his head at the toilet block.

Christine Egerton, prosecuting, asked the witness what happened when the accused pressed the gun to his head.

“He said - ‘goodnight sweetheart’ and pulled the trigger,” he said. “At one point it might have been pressed to my head.

“I have a vivid memory of the pistol against the side of my face. I heard a bang or click – it was a metallic noise.

“The gun didn’t go off and he tried to do something to the gun. I realised it was a real gun and bolted away while he was looking at the gun.”

Ms Egerton asked Mr Jackson what happened when he tried to hide inside the bunkhouse.

“As I was locking the door, I heard a bang and wood shrapnel came past my face. I think the gun was fired three times,” he replied.

“As the door exploded around me, I moved towards the bunkbeds and then turned back around to look at the door and there was blood all over the floor.”

Under cross examination from defence barrister, Alistair MacDonald KC, the witness denied that he intended to have a confrontation with the man he thought had assaulted his brother-in-law.

Earlier in the trial, jurors watched CCTV footage from inside the Tan Hill Inn showing the accused throwing punches and slapping staff and drinkers before he was forced into the external lobby of the remote pub.

The defendant was arrested at the venue, which lies on the Pennine Way in one of the remotest parts of the Yorkshire Dales, after he was Tasered by armed police.

A search of his glamping pod led to the recovery of two weapons, a pistol and a shotgun, while ammunition was also discovered on his person.

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Bowser, of Worcester Place, Bishop Auckland, denies two charges of attempted murder, two firearms charges, and one of grievous bodily harm.

The jury heard how he accepts that he fired the weapon at the door and maintains that he only discharged the weapon to she Mr Jackson that the gun was real.

The defendant has already pleaded guilty to three counts of assault and two charges of possession of a prohibited weapon.

The trial continues.