POLICE have welcomed the jail sentence imposed on a man who fired a sawn-off shotgun outside a shop in daylight.

Raymond Ian Hetherington, 34, was jailed for nine-and-a-half years at Durham Crown Court on Friday.

The court heard he had intended to fire the weapon, which he had hidden under the passenger seat of his car, at a rival during a confrontation outside a shop in South Moor, Stanley, County Durham, shortly after 11.30am on June 16, last year.

Instead, he inadvertently hit a friend, Brian Sutton, who the court heard was only about four metres away and took the full force of the blast.

Mark Giuliani, prosecuting, said Sutton was bundled away and taken to hospital, where he received surgery for pellet injuries to his abdomen.

The incident took place after Hetherington received a threatening note from the man he intended to shoot, but who hid inside the shop doorway when he fired.

Mr Giuliani said Hetherington made full and frank admissions about the shooting and led police to where he hid the sawn-off weapon, in a tablecloth in nearby woods.

Hetherington, of Unity Place, Stanley, admitted possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and intending to causing grievous bodily harm.

Glenn Gatland, in mitigation, said Hetherington and Sutton had felt threatened by his intended victim and others for several years.

The final straw came when a note was put through Hetherington’s letterbox saying his house would be set alight.

Mr Gatland said: “He felt he had to do something to protect his own family.”

Following the hearing, Detective Sergeant Paul Gray, of Consett police, said: “This shooting was outside commercial premises, on a main street in the middle of the day. It is just not acceptable.

“We are pleased with the outcome and particularly as a weapon like this has been removed from the streets.”

Sutton, 44, of Aylward Place, Stanley, who admitted violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon, a machete, in public, stemming from the incident, will be sentenced at a later date.