ANGRY that his neighbours wouldn’t stop their dogs from barking, a Chard teenager took the law into his own hands and fired an air rifle towards them as they were out in the garden.

Mervyn Webster shouted out of an upstairs window “shut the f***ing dog up”, but when the victims apologised they saw he had an air rifle in his hand.

He then pointed it towards his terrified neighbours and fired it at them, narrowly missing hitting them with a pellet.

When police were called to the scene they searched the property and found a number of different drugs belonging to the defendant at the address and he was arrested.

When he appeared before Somerset Magistrates at Yeovil they were told that the victims had been so traumatised by what happened that they felt they could no longer live in their house.

In victim impact statements read to the court the couple said that the incident had left them unable to stay in their home as they were worried for their family’s safety. They said they felt they had “no option” other than to move.

Webster, 19, of Old Station Court, pleaded guilty that on January 21 with intent to cause Marie Parsons harassment, alarm or distress he used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour thereby causing her harassment, alarm or distress.

He also admitted having with him at his home an air weapon which he used for firing missiles beyond those premises.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to four drugs offences where he admitted being in possession of two cannabis plants, a quantity of cannabis, 182 tablets of Diazepam and 60 tablets of Tramadol on the same date.

Prosecutor Emma Lenanton said that the complainants Marie Parsons and Marc Peadon lived next door to Webster and on the day in question they were out in their back garden at 8am to have a cigarette and let their dogs out.

“One of the dogs was barking and Webster opened his first floor window and shouted out telling them to “shut the f***ing dog up,” she said.

“Mr Peadon apologised and Webster had an air rifle in his hand pointing it out of his window and pointed it towards them and a pellet narrowly missed them.

“The police were called and the defendant told them the air rifle was on the stairs and when they searched the property they also found varying amounts of drugs including two cannabis plants.”

In a statement to the court Mr Peadon said that Webster’s actions had been “out of proportion” and he felt worried for his family’s safety.

“We feel we have no option other than to move but this will cause us massive inconvenience,” he said.

Miss Parsons said that all their belongings had now gone into storage and she was terrified to go back to the house after what happened and they were not sleeping.

“It has been quite emotional as we had hoped to stay there for another five years and this has also made me worried about meeting the defendant if I go out.”

Defending solicitor Neil Priest said that Webster was a young man who cared for mother full time as she suffered from a number of mental health problems.

“He spends all his time there and is almost a prisoner in that accommodation and hardly ever goes out,” he said.

“He had previous neighbours with dogs which were particularly boisterous and disruptive, and having heard those animals so many times the culmination of the loudness of these dogs barking got on top of him.”

He added that the court proceedings had caused Webster great distress.

Probation officer Joe Harper said the defendant regretted his actions on that day but said that the dogs which were barking for a period of time had got to him and he lost his self control and temper along with it.

He added that Webster did not drink but his main problem was his drug use which needed to be addressed.

The magistrates told the defendant he had come very close to going straight into custody but requested a pre sentence report to be prepared by the probation service.

They said they felt the offence was so serious that it crossed the custody threshold and were not ruling out sending him to the crown court on the next occasion for sentence if they felt their powers were not sufficient.

They adjourned the case until September 28 when Webster must return to the court at Yeovil.

In the meantime they released him on bail with a condition not to contact Marie Parsons or Marc Peadon directly or indirectly.