Hunter let off after blasting fellow shooters

FOR decades, the Strathearn valley in the heart of Perthshire has been a Mecca for shooting parties from across Britain, keen to bag the wild geese grazing on the rich farmlands during their winter migration.

But a day's shooting almost ended in tragedy when two hunters were seriously wounded after being blasted with heavy shot at almost point-blank range by another member of their eight-strong party.

Yesterday the two hunters injured in the incident last November angrily condemned the Crown Office's decision to drop the firearms charges against the fellow hunter they claim came close to killing them.

Stewart Davidson, 58, and Alan Badham, 57, both sustained serious shotgun wounds to their legs in the shooting incident at Dalreoch farm near Dunning on 28 November.

One of heavy shot pellets struck Mr Davidson, a Scot who works as a financial adviser in London, only inches from a main artery. Mr Badham, a gas engineer from Pontypool, Wales, was left with a badly deformed thumb after a pellet ripped through his right hand.

Another member of their shooting party, Paul Thomas, 47, from Gwent, Wales, was accused of culpably and recklessly injuring his fellow hunters.

But yesterday, the injured men blasted the Crown Office after learning that the prosecution case against Mr Thomas at Perth Sheriff Court had been dropped.

A furious Mr Davidson declared: "This idiot broke every rule in the book with a loaded gun when he ended up shooting the two of us. We were fortunately shot in the legs. But he could have killed two people quite easily.

"I had 14 massive gashes in my right leg, and a pellet in my left upper thigh came perilously close to a main artery. I could have bled to death in that field."

He said being shot felt like a "sledgehammer" being smashed against his leg.

He added: "I am absolutely incensed that the procurator-fiscal has dropped the charges against him and he is free to get all his guns back. I thought the whole purpose behind gun laws was public safety."

Mr Badham also hit out at the decision to drop the charges.

He said: "We were stood only two metres away from Mr Thomas when he discharged his gun. The shot went right through my right thumb and shot the nail off."

A Crown Office spokesman explained: "After carefully reviewing all of the facts and circumstances, the procurator-fiscal concluded that proceedings should be discontinued. The case is now closed."

Mr Thomas told The Scotsman: "I have no comment. The charges were dropped and that's all I have to say. I feel it was a terrible accident that occurred and I am very remorseful for that."