Irate pensioner, 73, shot neighbour, 37, in FACE with air rifle in front of his terrified children after clippings from boundary hedge fell in his garden – but is spared jail
- Darrian Palmer was trimming hedge when debris fell into his neighbour’s garden
- Malcolm Newsome, 73, was so angry he shot Mr Palmer in the head with air rifle
- Mr Palmer tackled Newsome to ground until police arrived at Dewsbury homes
- Newsome admitted unlawful wounding and was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to complete unpaid work at Leeds Crown Court
An irate pensioner shot his neighbour in the face with an air rifle after hedge clippings fell into his garden.
Darrian Palmer, 37, says he is lucky he wasn’t left blind after the attack by neighbour Malcolm Newsome last May which left Mr Palmer needing hospital treatment.
Newsome was spared jail after admitting unlawful wounding at Leeds Crown Court in relation to the shooting which took place in front of Mr Palmer’s terrified children.
And now Mr Palmer has told MailOnline the incident has left him feeling ‘unsafe’ in his West Yorkshire home – where he has lived for 15 years.
Speaking to the Sun about the incident, Mr Palmer said: ‘He was shouting, “Your f*****g hedge is in my garden”.
‘I said, “Get a grip, it’s a few little bits”.
‘He then told me to take a closer look by his fence and that’s when he grabbed the rifle, aimed and shot me.
‘At first I didn’t even feel it. The adrenaline had kicked in.
Darrian Palmer, 37, (pictured) says he is lucky he wasn’t left blind after he was shot in the face by neighbour Malcolm Newsome over a dispute when trimmings fell into Newsome’s garden
‘But I’m lucky I’m not blind. One inch lower and it would have definitely been life-changing.’
The court heard the father-of-three had been trimming the boundary hedge between their properties in Dewsbury.
Retired HGV driver Newsome became infuriated when some of the trimmings fell into his garden.
After being shot, Mr Palmer tackled Newsome to the ground and detained him until police arrived while his wife Claire took the rifle away from the pensioner.
Neighbour Malcolm Newsome (pictured) who attacked Darrian Palmer last May
After police arrived, Mr Palmer was taken to hospital where the pellet was removed under local anaesthetic.
The shooting did not cause permanent damage to his skull but the court heard his children had suffered nightmares since the incident.
Newsome pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding at Leeds Crown Court and was handed an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work and was made the subject of a curfew order.
Mr Palmer. who still lives next to Newsome, said his young daughter has been left traumatised and experiencing nightmares after she witnessed the incident.
The family said they no longer feel safe at their home where they have lived for 15 years.
Mr Palmer tackled Newsome to the ground while wife Claire (pictured right with Mr Palmer) threw the rifle away from the pensioner who was detained until police arrived on scene
They said that the ruling had left them ‘shocked’ and made them feel like Mr Newsome had ‘carte blanche’.
He told MailOnline: ‘My children had to witness the entire thing and they were crying and in hysterics.
‘My middle child has been having nightmares and they’re completely traumatised.
‘It’s honestly ridiculous that he’s avoided jail entirely. If it was the other way around we’d be talking from a prison cell.
He added: ‘We don’t feel safe in our own home.’
Darrian bought the home in 2006 and said he was on good terms with Mr Newsome who already lived next door.
But he said their relationship soured after a night shift in 2015 when Darrian was kept awake by Mr Newsome’s dogs.
Darrian claims Mr Newsome wasn’t in so he left him a letter – but found it shredded in his own letterbox the following morning.
The painter said: ‘He has always been quite aggressive so I wasn’t completely surprised.
‘We used to get along until the incident with the letter.’
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