Andrew Ardle twice fired a sawn-off shotgun at Justin Short

Andrew Ardle twice fired a sawn-off shotgun at Justin Short, who he wrongly suspected of trying to “chat up”

his wife.

Durham Crown Court heard how the shooting only enraged Short, who gave chase by car.

Their eight-mile high-speed pursuit came to a dramatic end when Short shunted the gunman’s Mitsubishi 4x4 off the road at the County Hall roundabout in Durham City.

Ardle, who was injured in the accident, then fired twice more as Short drove away in his Mercedes.

The confrontation ended when police stopped Short as he attempted to drive back to Stanley, County Durham.

Ardle was found near his damaged Mitsubishi vehicle, which had come to rest on its side on the grass verge.

They discovered his legallyheld Beretta 12-bore shotgun, which he had illegally shortened the day before, in the grounds of County Hall.

Forty-one-year-old Ardle, who was said to be having a nervous breakdown at the time, was yesterday jailed for seven years.

Short, who was said to have taken the “bizarre” decision to pursue a man armed with a shotgun, was given a suspended prison sentence.

The court heard that the shooting incidents took place in daylight, eight miles apart, in relatively busy areas of Humber Hill, Stanley, and Framwellgate Peth, Durham, between 6.15pm and 6.30pm, on Saturday, August 29, last year.

Clodagh Maguire, prosecuting, said Ardle told police he shortened the shotgun with a saw as he was considering committing suicide. But he then decided to take the weapon with him when he went to confront Mr Short, who he believed had made some sort of advances to his wife.

“He, himself, only knew Mr Short from having bought a vehicle from him 18 months previously.

“He phoned him and accused him of making advances to his wife and then went to confront him.”

The jealous husband confronted some friends of Mr Short and in the melee he suffered a bloodied nose. Seconds later he took out the shotgun and fired it twice.

Ardle claimed he had only taken the weapon to intimidate his supposed “love rival”

and only fired it to scare off his attackers.

Ms Maguire said: “Mr Short’s 17-year-old daughter was with him at the time. He dropped her off and then pursued Mr Ardle by car.”

Ardle, of Beechdale Road, Belmont, Durham, admitted two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to cause a fear of violence, possessing a loaded shotgun in a public place, shortening a shotgun and possessing a prohibited firearm.

Robin Patton, for Ardle, told the court: “The defendant wants to make it plain that there is nothing that can be said in this case to suggest his wife has ever behaved improperly, it was just a distorted state of mind on his behalf.

“He was suffering stress at the time, trying to run his various business commitments as a builder, horse breeder, gym and property owner.

“He was in the throes of suffering a nervous breakdown.

“The psychiatric report states that with his business pressures and then the trigger of his suspicion of his wife’s infidelity, it gave rise to what is termed an ‘acute stress reaction’.”

“What we are dealing with is a man who was not behaving rationally.

“He didn’t have financial pressures like many people.

He had pressures with businesses he didn’t really need to run.”

Short, 38, of Keats Close, Stanley, admitted dangerous driving.

Bob Spragg, for Short, told the court: “It was an incident not of his making.

“Trouble came to his door in the shape of Mr Ardle who appears to have got it into his head that Mr Short flirted with his wife at a public house.

“He has absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

“He did go after him and did knock him off the road.

“When police pulled him up he did pull up and co-operate with the officers, telling them exactly what had happened.”

Jailing Ardle, the judge Mr Justice Openshaw said, whatever his intentions, he brought “terror” to innocent members of the public in both areas despite having a mental illness.

He told Short that his decision to chase Ardle appeared, “incomprehensible”.

Short was given an eightmonth prison sentence suspended for two years, with an order to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

He was also banned from driving for a year and ordered to pay £535 costs