A man was accidentally shot after hunting foxes with two friends, police said last night.

He was getting into his car in the early hours of yesterday, near Consett, County Durham, when a .22 rifle went off, hitting him in the foot.

Durham Police have questioned the man and his companions and are satisfied the shooting was an accident. A spokesman said the three, all members of a shooting syndicate, were returning to their cars in the early hours. "The 36-year-old victim, who is not being named, had got into his car when a .22 rifle being carried by one of the other men went off. The victim was hit in the foot. The wounds are not life-threatening."

He said the men were all licensed to carry the weapons and had an agreement with a local farmer to hunt foxes on his land at Woodside Drift, near Delves Lane, Consett.

The injured man, from the north-west Durham area, was due to have surgery last night at Dryburn Hospital, Durham City.