A MAN yesterday described the moment a teenage girl was fatally shot in the eye by his faulty air rifle.

An inquest into the death of 18-year-old Rachel Davies, who was born in Darlington, heard she was in bed when she was shot dead at a flat in Bury, Greater Manchester, on the morning of December 7 last year.

The pellet lodged in her brain and she died in hospital more than two weeks later.

Following her funeral, her ashes were placed with those of her late grandmother in Darlington.

Miss Davies' friend David McKeon, 27, who owned the flat and the weapon, told the inquest he believed it would not fire.

He said he bought the .22 inch air rifle for £60 three weeks prior to the incident from his friend Clint Kirkham, who told him it had never worked.

"No one had a clue it was loaded," Mr McKeon told Rochdale Coroners' Court.

Another friend, Stephen Hodgson, knocked on his door and spotted the gun when he came into the bedroom where Rachel was sleeping.

Mr McKeon said: "He asked if he could look at it. He held it up and said "nice gun". He looked through the sight of the gun and as he put it down it went off.

"I heard a bang and he said "what have I done?"."

Rachel had woken up seconds before she was shot, he told the court.

"She didn't scream. I could see blood coming out of her eye and I tried wiping it and we phoned the ambulance," he said.

All three men were previously cleared of firearms charges in relation to the death.

Forensic scientist Andrew Skae told the court he tested the rifle and found it was faulty.

He said: "I have never examined a gun so prone to unintentional discharge before. It was in an unusually poor condition."

Miss Davies' mother Angela told the court her daughter was "loved and cherished" by her family and friends.

Coroner Simon Nelson returned a verdict of accidental death.

He said: "I accept that there was a possibility of that firearm being discharged by mistake."

Miss Davies' parents said they believed Mr Hodgson was also a victim of the accident.

At a press conference following the verdict, they sat side by side with an emotional Mr Hodgson, who urged parents never to buy their children airguns.

He said: "If one person decides not to pick up an air weapon after this then I can at least say something positive has come out of this tragedy."