A SECURITY firm boss who shot his former business partner with a sawn-off shotgun has had a bid to overturn his conviction dismissed in London's Appeal Court.

George Doneathy, a 6ft 6in bodybuilder with a reputation as a "hardman", shot Martin Mandeville in Preston Park, near Stockton, in February 2001, when the two met to "sort things out".

Mandeville suffered devastating stomach wounds, requiring six weeks of intensive care. He escaped death only by a "whisker", Lord Justice Rix said.

Doneathy, who said the gun went off by accident after he tried to wrestle it free from Mandeville, was jailed for seven years in July last year, having been convicted of wounding with intent and cleared of possessing a shotgun with intent.

The 38-year-old, of Appleby Close, Eaglescliffe, Stockton, appealed against his conviction on the grounds that the jury's verdicts were inconsistent.

Lord Justice Rix said: "We see no difficulty regarding the combination of verdicts."

Doneathy and Mr Mandeville were partners in a security firm, but they fell out after Mr Mandeville accused Doneathy of "taking money from the partnership, leaving him with an unexpected liability arising out of the dissolution and, in effect, cheating him".

The prosecution said Doneathy brought a sawn-off shotgun to a planned meeting in the park, where the men would sort out their differences "through action and not words".

Mr Mandeville, of Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, was a former European champion kickboxer who said he had nothing to fear from Doneathy in a "straight fight".

He said Doneathy took the shotgun from his jacket and shot him at close range as the two men emerged from their parked cars.

Lord Justice Rix said Doneathy was sentenced on the basis that "he obtained possession of the shotgun from Mr Mandeville and then shot him deliberately with it".

The judge, sitting with Mr Justice Hedley and Sir John Blofeld, said that shooting a man in the stomach was a crime of the utmost seriousness, adding: "The sentence of seven years was one that the judge was entitled to impose."