A BLACKBURN man appeared in court after a roller-blading man was shot in the foot with a nail gun and beaten up in an ‘unprovoked and sustained attack’.

Darren Davies, aged 25, was roller-blading down Manchester Road in Farnworth, Bolton, when the attack happened, at about 2.30am on December 31, 2016.

A white van pulled in front of him and three men got out and one of them shot him in the foot with a nail gun, Bolton Crown Court was told on Monday morning.

He fell to the ground before the men punched him ‘repeatedly and persistently’ as he tried to defend himself.

The nail gun did not cause any fractures to the man’s foot and he suffered bruising and swelling to the face and nose.

Two men pleaded guilty to ABH in relation to the incident.

Ben Stokes, aged 29, of Roseneath Road in Bolton, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for the assault on Mr Davies, 11 months for affray relating to an incident in a McDonald’s a short time later and four months for breach of bail.

Nadeem Alli, aged 36, of Westbury Gardens in Blackburn, was handed a 14-month sentence suspended for 18 months.

The court heard how he was driving the van the three attackers had been in but did not take part in the attack.

Addressing Alli, Judge Graeme Smith said: “They proceeded to carry out an unprovoked, sustained attack on the pedestrian. You were complicit in what happened.”

Alli was also sentenced for drink-driving after consuming seven or eight pints of lager that night and possession of cannabis.

Following the assault, the group travelled to a McDonald’s nearby and two of the men, including Stokes, became involved in a fight.

Stokes and the other man then produced nail guns and one of them was discharged. No one was hurt and Alli intervened to break-up the fight. The van was seen by police later that night and Alli was arrested and found to be over the limit. He was ordered to carry out 140 hours unpaid work and was banned from driving for 18 months.