A MAN who fired a shotgun after going to confront a love rival at his ex-partner’s home has been convicted of a firearms offence.

The drama unfolded in Rossmore Road, Parkstone, on the morning of March 30.

Gary Reid, 52, of Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth, had denied possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life but was convicted at Bournemouth Crown Court yesterday.

The court was told Reid and ex-partner Teresa Mytton had separated around 18 months before the incident. New partner David Hewitt, a plasterer, was refurbishing Ms Mytton’s home.

Reid phoned Mr Hewitt that morning, the court heard, and gave Mr Hewitt his blessing for the relationship.

But the jury was told he added: “If any harm comes to my son then I will shoot you in the face.”

The prosecution said that at around 11am Reid came to the house armed with a sawn-off shotgun and fired it.

Mr Hewitt told the jury he was heading out of the house to get tools from his van when he saw Reid a couple of paces inside the house with the gun.

The plasterer told the court: “I thought to myself ‘Is that real?’ “And I thought ‘I am not going to hang about to find out’. So I turned and ran down to the right hand side of the corridor and he took a shot and the pellets hit the left hand side of the wall.”

As Reid entered the kitchen, Mr Hewitt and a friend managed to wrestle the shotgun away. The gun was fired once more during the struggle.

After his arrest, Reid was said to have told police he brought the gun and fired into the wall simply in order to “scare” the love rival.

Judge John Harrow told Reid he would be remanded in custody while pre-sentence reports were carried out. He will be sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on September 5.