A MAN who shot his nephew in the throat with a crossbow at point-blank range, after a row over a nuisance dog, has been jailed for six years.

Allan Spensley fired a bolt into the neck of Kenny Beal, narrowly missing an artery, when a disagreement over a Staffordshire bull terrier turned to violence.

The 43-year-old visited his nephew's caravan in the early hours of September 24 and shouted: "You have come to the house three times now about the dog. You won't come again because I'll ****ing kill you."

Teesside Crown Court heard that the life-threatening incident happened when he fired the bolt into 25-year-old Mr Beal's neck, narrowly missing a carotid artery and jugular vein.

A jury of five men and seven women yesterday found the defendant not guilty of attempted murder but guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

A verdict of not guilty was returned on a charge of arson with intent to endanger life.

Spensley, of William Street, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, claimed he had acted in self-defence after Mr Beal had threatened him with a Samurai sword on an earlier occasion in another row about his dog Butch, which was keeping Mr Beal and his wife awake at night.

Judge Peter Fox, jailing Spensley, said it had been a terrifying incident for the victim, who would have died within minutes if the bolt had pierced the artery or vein.

He said: "This was a dreadful piece of violence which you perpetrated.

"You had been good friends with your nephew and he with you.

"This was a ridiculously disproportionate reaction to a row over a dog. What you did was a terrible thing."

Chris Baker, mitigating, said the defendant had been suffering from depression following the death of his wife when the incident took place.

He said: "It is submitted on behalf of Mr Spensley that this was an out-of-character incident.

"He had not taken his medication at that time. It was an out-of-character incident brought on by depression in difficult domestic circumstances."

Judge Fox ordered that the weapon be destroyed.