Man jailed for air rifle injury to boy

11:05am Saturday 13th January 2007

A POOLE man who shot and injured a seven-year-old boy with an air rifle as he cycled on a footpath near his home was sent to a young offenders' institution for 10 months.

The Daily Echo revealed how Jacob Foskett had been riding his bike in Hasler Road, Canford Heath, on August 30 last year when he felt a pain in his left thigh.

A neighbour helped him walk home and Jacob was taken to Poole hospital, where he was found to have a pellet lodged in the top of his leg. The pellet could not be removed but Jacob did not suffer any permanent damage.

Thomas Blackburn, 20, admitted unlawful wounding and possessing a firearm. Bournemouth Crown Court heard how an air rifle, silencer and ammunition had been found at his home.

Following his arrest, Blackburn told police he had not deliberately aimed at the youngster but close to him, hoping to confuse him because he thought it would be "a laugh." Blackburn also said he had shot at car windows and a lamppost.

Jacob spent three nights in Poole hospital where surgeons attempted to remove the airgun pellet from his leg and clean the wound.

The family moved shortly after the incident but his mother Claire Hall told the Echo that Jacob was still reluctant to play with his friends outside when he went back to visit his grandparents who live near the scene of the shooting.

Until his sentencing Blackburn had been living with an aunt in Essex.

After the hearing, Claire Hall told the Echo she was "disappointed" with the length of the sentence.

"I was hoping for longer, considering what he did. The only consolation was that he was given some sort of a sentence."