A MAN using an airgun shot the window out of a parked car, showering glass across a five-month-old girl being cradled inches away.

Emelia Harper had been lifted into the back seat of the car by a friend of her father, just seconds before the shot rang out.

Her father, Les Harper, 26, had driven to Chilton, County Durham, to get a pizza at about 5pm on Sunday and parked his Ford Sierra outside the shop in the village's South Downs.

After he got out of the car, friend Lee Hobson lifted Emelia, who was crying, into the passenger side of the back seat to try to comfort her.

Mr Harper, of Newton Aycliffe, said: "As soon as he did that and I walked round the back of the car, I heard this bang and the window went out."

Although Emelia was showered in glass, she was unhurt. Mr Hobson received a minor cut.

Police carried out door-to-door inquiries, checked footage from security cameras and searched a nearby field in an unsuccessful effort to find the gunman.

Mr Harper said: "She wasn't hurt in any way, which is some sort of mini miracle to tell you the truth. I will never ever set foot in Chilton again."

Between April 2001 to March 2002, Durham Police received 135 reports of damage caused by air weapons. There had also been seven slight injuries and two reports of threats involving such weapons.

Anyone with information about the Chilton incident is asked to contact Newton Aycliffe police on (01325) 314401 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.