A NOTORIOUS gunman, once at the centre of a 48-hour armed siege, has been back before the Courts.

Keith Pringle was jailed for shooting his best friend and his girlfriend’s mother, and holding his partner hostage, after flying into a jealous rage.

The woman escaped unharmed when police snipers brought the siege to an end by shooting Pringle in the throat.

He was released after 11 years in 2004, but was jailed again within months for breaching a ban on entering Darlington.

Now back on the streets, he appeared before magistrates yesterday charged with hurling a glass bottle in the Railway Tavern pub, in High Northgate, Darlington – narrowly missing a barmaid.

The 40-year-old pleaded guilty to causing harassment, alarm and distress, and admitted damaging a door in his police cell after his arrest.

Blair Martin, prosecuting, told Darlington Magistrates’ Court: “The landlord was behind the bar at 7.30pm on August 30 when two men came in.

“The bar was busy, so nobody could serve the men and they were asked the wait. Within a minute the landlord heard a loud smashing noise. A bottle had been thrown at the bar, smashing several other bottles as well.”

Mr Martin added: “Fortunately, the barmaid was not injured.”

The police were called and CCTV footage showed that Pringle had thrown the bottle before running out of the pub.

When officers arrested him he was drunk and abusive, and later admitted that he had been drinking since 9am.

Pringle, now of The Village, Headlam, near Darlington, was jailed in 1992 for the siege at Lyonette Road, in the town.

Thinking his former girlfriend and best friend had been having an affair, he held the girl at gunpoint for two days after shooting her mother in the face and shooting his best friend twice with a sawn-off shotgun.

All of his victims survived the attacks.

Pringle, now shavenheaded but still bearing scars on his neck from the shooting, appeared in court yesterday.

Ben Pegman, mitigating, said: “He is extremely remorseful.

“He would like to apologise to the landlord.”

District Judge Andrew Pascoe heard that Pringle owed the court more than £1,100 in outstanding fines and compensation for previous offences. He fined him £100 and barred him from the Railway Tavern for six months.

He said: “Throwing the bottle could have caused serious injury.”