A TEENAGER stormed off to his bedroom after a furious family row and grabbed his air rifle which he pointed at his terrified stepfather.

A judge heard the incident was the latest in a series rows involving Marcus Webb which had led to his stepfather Nigel Pain moving out of their New Forest home.

Mr Pain regularly returned to the house and it was on one such visit that he intervened in an argument the teenager was having with his mother.

Prosecutor Charles Gabb told Winchester Crown Court that Webb’s reaction was to become violent and swear.

Mr Pain told him: “You don’t frighten me,” and that acted as the trigger for Webb to shout back, “I don’t frighten you? Well, I’ll get my gun and I’ll shoot you.”

He then went to his bedroom and brought back the air rifle, raising it to his shoulder and getting down on one knee as he pointed it at Mr Pain, threatening “I’ll shoot your eye out.”

Mr Gabb commented: “You can only imagine what state he was in because he didn’t know whether the rifle was loaded. It really scared him.”

Fortunately it wasn’t loaded and the locking mechanism had been engaged.

Webb returned to his room but the following day while they discussing the rifle, his sister’s boyfriend grabbed hold of the weapon and put it in his car.

Webb then shouted over the phone to the police he was being maltreated at home, got a knife with a four or five inch blade and stormed off, making various threats he was going to kill himself.

Three hours later, he surrendered himself to police.

Webb, 18, of West Park Lane, Damerham, admitted affray and possessing a bladed article. He received a 34-week suspended sentence, 18-month supervision and a 100-hour community work order.

Judge Susan Evans QC told him: “You pointed the gun at his face and this must have been very frightening because he didn’t know whether it was loaded.

Your behaviour was extremely disturbing.

“But from what I have read about you, I accept you are remorseful and you have accepted responsibility for what you did and you see that your mother was the victim of your behaviour.”

Stephen Tricker, defending, said Webb was as a vulnerable young man who had been in the care wing at a young offenders institution while on remand.