Tan Hill Inn: Gun victim 'very lucky' to avoid more wounds, court told

A man shot in the arm during a row at Britain's highest pub was "very lucky indeed" to avoid further injury, a court heard.

Lee Jackson was fired at a number of times during the disturbance at the Tan Hill Inn in North Yorkshire on 21 July.

The argument began when Richard Bowser got into in a brawl at the pub, near Reeth, after his bank card was declined.

Mr Bowser, 46, of Bishop Auckland, denies two counts of attempted murder.

On Thursday, the trial at Teesside Crown Court heard from firearms expert Andre Horne, who said there was evidence of shotgun fire at the scene, as well as four bullets being fired from a recommissioned revolver.

The revolver had been fitted with a replacement barrel, Mr Horne said, which affected the "velocity" of the bullets when they were fired.

One of the projectiles became lodged in Mr Jackson's arm when he was shot at through a door, but two others hit him on the chest and abdomen respectively and caused bruising.

Discussing the bullet which struck Mr Jackson's chest, Mr Horne said he was "very lucky indeed that the bullet [had] lost sufficient velocity to only cause him an abrasion."

A fourth bullet fired through the door hit a wall opposite at "shoulder-height", Mr Horne said.

The jury was told Mr Bowser was found with 44 bullets in his pockets when he was arrested by police.

The guns were later recovered from a bed in the nearby glamping pod where he was staying the night.

Defending Bowser, Alistair MacDonald KC said previous evidence in which Mr Jackson claimed the accused had said "goodnight sweetheart" before firing a gun pointed at his head was not true.

He told the court Mr Jackson had not mentioned it in an initial interview with police in hospital on the day after the incident.

"I suggest something like 'goodnight sweetheart' as he pulled the trigger would have been something that stuck firmly in your mind," he added.

Mr Jackson said "bits of the event have come back to me, maybe" throughout therapy he had been undergoing.

Mr Bowser has previously pleaded guilty to assaulting three people and possession of a firearm, but denies a charge of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life as well as two counts of attempted murder.

The trial continues.

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