A man who shot his partner in the head from close range with an air rifle during an innocuous row has been locked up.

Kenneth Richardson held the weapon to the man’s head when they argued about cigarettes and sandwiches.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the victim was taken to James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, but surgeons decided it was safer to leave the pellet lodged in his skull rather than attempt to remove it.

The pair had been in an on-and-off relationship for several years before it came to a violent end in March this year when the defendant pointed the weapon at the man’s head.

In a statement read out to the court, the victim said: "The next thing I heard a loud sound to my head. I turned and looked and I saw the barrel of my air rifle inches from my face."

The court heard how the 44-year-old, formerly of Hartlepool, had struggled with drug addiction and mental health problems for several years.

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A psychiatrist's report found that Richardson may have been suffering from psychosis at the time. Richardson himself said he was "hearing voices because of all of the drugs" he had taken.

Kenneth RichardsonKenneth Richardson (Image: Cleveland Police)

Richardson was originally facing an attempted murder charge, but the court accepted his guilty pleas to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and to the possession of a firearm with intent following the incident on March 27.

Judge Timothy Stead said: "You have a long history of drug abuse and it may well be that your thinking was disturbed to some extent. Discharging this weapon at someone's temple at close range - you are both fortunate that no further harm was caused."

Despite a plea from the victim for clemency, the judge sentenced Richardson to two year and eight months in custody.