A GUNMAN opened fire with an airgun at a group of youths after they began playing football outside his home.
Samuel Field, 29, reached boiling point after being plagued by anti-social behaviour near his home in South Shields, Tyneside.
Field, now of County Durham, and neighbours had made repeated reports to police about the behaviour.
But on the evening of April 7, Field's partner made another call to officers after a group of 10 to 15 teenagers began playing football in the lanes around their home.
The woman began filming the youths outside her window in an attempt to gather evidence for the police, reports Chronicle Live.
Kevin Wardlaw, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "They realised she was making a recording of them playing football and somebody in the group became abusive to the woman at the window.
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"She told them, in no uncertain terms, to get away and said she was recording what was going on."
Field then went outside and confronted the group and took the football from a 15-year-old boy before threatening to hit the youths.
Mr Wardlaw said: "The defendant went back in the house and what happened next is captured on a short video clip which shows the defendant come to the window in possession of an air rifle, which he fired towards the youths."
Field's shots with the airgun hit the 15-year-old in the head, while another shot struck a girl on the inner thigh.
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Neither youth was seriously injured, and the group ran away from the gunman.
The boy said in a victim statement: "As soon as I saw him with a gun I knew he was going to do it. He didn't have a right to do it.
"I probably won't go back there now. I don't want this to happen again, anything could happen."
Field told police in an interview that while he did fire the gun, he did not intend to hit them and instead meant to just scare them off.
The 29-year-old, who said he owns a number of air weapons but has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and common assault.
Vic Laffey, defending, said: "He is someone who is a decent man who reached the end of his tether and did something he accepts was entirely inappropriate.
"He and other people in the vicinity had suffered a significant amount of abuse, damage to property and the like, from youths in the area.
"He says for about 12 months, sometimes up to ten times a week, he had been reporting this.
"When, on this particular evening some abuse was directed at his girlfriend he reached the end of his tether and did something extremely foolish, which thankfully didn't result in any serious injury.
"At least it brought things to a head. He has left the area altogether."
Judge Sarah Mallett sentenced Field to 14 months suspended for 21 months with rehabilitation.
He was also ordered to pay £50 to each of the two children he shot along with a fine of £100.
The judge told him: "It was an inappropriate response to a build up of frustration and the anti-social behaviour which impacted on your life.
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"There was no indication the children you hit were responsible for the anti-social behaviour you were complaining about.
"You have demonstrated genuine remorse and have moved and got rid of the air weapons. It's undoubtedly very serious to fire an imitation firearm at a group of individuals, let alone children."
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