A MAN who accidentally shot a drinker in a beer garden after missing the noisy pigeon he was trying to silence has been jailed for 17 months.

Ahmed Ali claimed he was trying to sleep and decided to take a potshot at the pigeon cawing noisily in the tree outside his flat - but missed both the bird and the tree.

The air pistol pellet flew past the tree and embedded itself in the head of Steven McGraw while he sat relaxing with friends.

Perth Sheriff Court was told that the pellet was embedded in his head and that the shocked bar manager was left with suspected nerve damage as a result of the random shooting.

Fiscal depute Gavin Letford said: "He felt an object strike his right temple with sufficient force to cause his head to jolt. He could feel an object lodged in his temple.

"It appeared to be an airgun pellet lodged in the side of his head. It was embedded in his head. It started to bleed. It was removed by paramedics."

Ali, who works in Greek restaurant Limo's in Pitlochry, was traced and admitted he had used the gun to take a shot from the town centre flat where he was staying.

"I'm really sorry," he told police, "I was shooting at birds and didn't realise I had hit anyone. Are they OK?"

Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said: "He was tired and trying to get some sleep before working later. He was disturbed by repeated noise from a pigeon in the tree outside.

"He used the airgun to shoot at the pigeon. Not only did he miss that, but he missed the tree and it went into the group beyond. He couldn't see the group but knew people would be sitting there.

"He is sorry for what he has done. It was something he did without thinking it through properly. He did not mean harm, but harm was caused. He has expressed his regret and concern for the victim."

Mr McGraw said his public confidence had been shattered after being shot from a window by Ali.

He told the court: "I had suspected nerve damage on my head because of the injury. I took time off work in order to recover.

"I had severe headaches for two to three weeks after the incident. I also had a great deal of trouble sleeping. I received medication from the doctor for this, which provided some relief.

"It was very difficult for me initially to feel comfortable in Pitlochry or at work. I have no idea why I was targeted, or if I was, being quite a well-known figure working in the public eye in quite a small town has been difficult.

"I spoke to a professional about my reluctance to be in public and he encouraged me to return to my normal routine. It has been difficult for anything to be normal since the event.

"I suffer from a lack of confidence that has never been a problem before and I am quite wary of strangers. It is not ideal considering I am a bar manager.

"I used to consider the town extremely safe, but I'm now far more jittery. It's very important in my line of work to be confident, outgoing and in control. This incident has made it a lot more challenging for me to be any of those things."

Ali, 25, Atholl Road, Pitlochry, admitted culpably and recklessly discharging a firearm and striking Steven McGraw in the head, causing injury, on 20 July last year.

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said: "It should have been perfectly obvious to you that if you started firing from your window on a Sunday evening in July there was a distinct possibility someone in the beer garden might be struck."