A man has been jailed for 13 years after firing a sawn-off shotgun at a woman during a disturbance in County Durham.
Armed officers were called to a disturbance on Dale Road, Shildon on the afternoon of Thursday, October 7. Neville Coatsworth was arrested after the 56-year-old threatened the woman before turning the gun on a man who was trying to intervene.
At an earlier hearing at Teesside Crown Court, Coatsworth admitted possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, possession of two shotguns, and possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate.
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No one at the scene required hospital treatment but a woman, in her 60s, was left shaken and with minor injuries. At Teesside Crown Court on Thursday, Coatsworth was sentenced to 13 years in prison and given an extended licence.
Detective Constable David Nicholson, of Durham Constabulary, said: "To open your front door to find a man standing there with a shotgun must have been absolutely terrifying. Coatsworth didn’t care about the potential consequences of his actions that day.
"Thankfully no-one was injured but the people who were in the street that day will no doubt remember what happened for the rest of their lives. This incident could have had a very different outcome but thanks to quick-thinking members of the public who alerted us, it meant we were able to bring this to a safe conclusion fairly quickly."
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