A WORCESTER father fired a gun at a group of men after a row erupted over a broken car window, a judge has ruled.

Alan Sinclair described how a shot from Lee Jauncey's air rifle hit a garage wall as he fled in panic.

Jauncey claimed he only discharged the empty gun to scare four men who threatened him.

But Judge Marten Coates heard evidence at Worcester Crown Court before deciding the pellet was fired by the 32-year-old, who confessed to police he went "off his head".

Jauncey admitted possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. He was bailed for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Mr Sinclair, who is from Kidderminster and is currently serving a jail sentence for commercial burglary, said he and his friends went to Brookthorpe Close, Warndon, Worcester, to collect car wheels on May 27 last year.

An argument broke out between his friend Lee Kirkman and Jauncey over who had smashed a car window.

Angry Jauncey, of Chatcombe Drive, Warndon, left the scene for a short time and returned carrying the gun in a zip-up case.

"I saw him opening it up. He started to lift the gun up. That's when I ran," Mr Sinclair told the court.

"I was running past some garages when I heard a crack and something ricocheted off the garage wall. I carried on running."

He told police he had been shot at but they could find no marks on the wall or any spent pellets.

Father-of-one Jauncey alleged the four men had been looking for him and threatened to beat him up.

He claimed threats had also been made against his girlfriend Samantha Blount and their baby and added: "I just got a bit angry. I cocked the gun with no pellet in. I wanted to scare them."

Jauncey said he was on 12 tablets a day to combat a brain problem.

Judge Coates said the defendant had a bad criminal record. He could make no promises about the eventual sentence.