A MAN who fired gunshots in a Wath-upon-Dearne pub - seriously injuring the landlady in the process - has been jailed for over a decade.

On June 28 last year, following an altercation outside the Red Lion pub, Oliver Corney fired three shots towards the pub’s beer garden before fleeing from the scene.

Bonita Page was outside her pub when she was hit in the leg and suffered ‘life-changing injuries’.

Officers were quickly on the scene and through initial witness interviews and CCTV enquiries, Corney was nominated as a suspect.

As the local community began to provide crucial information about the incident, he eventually handed himself in.

After refusing to provide any comment or explanation for his reckless behaviour, a positive identification from a witness of the incident and an overwhelming amount of evidence resulted in Corney being charged with possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and Section 18 - grievous bodily harm with intent.

Corney’s remorseless behaviour was displayed further as he initially pleaded not guilty to the offences - however with the evidence stacking against him, the 34-year-old changed his plea to guilty.

Corney, of Cricket Inn Road in Sheffield, was jailed for 11 years and nine months following his sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court last Friday.

He was heard apologising for his actions while he was being sentenced.

Detective Constable Jennifer Guest, from South Yorkshire Police’s armed crime team, said: “Corney’s thoughtless actions put lots of people in danger and it is only through sheer luck that more people were not injured during this incident.

“His careless behaviour has left a lasting impact on his victim and I hope this sentence provides some closure for her.

“This was a thorough investigation which was helped by lots of support from the local community ultimately providing an overwhelming amount of evidence leaving Corney no choice but to plead guilty.

“We are relentless in our approach to tackling firearm enabled criminality in South Yorkshire and as today’s sentencing shows, anyone intent on illegally using or possessing firearms will be found and dealt with by the courts.

“We need the public to continue to help us in order to keep putting these dangerous criminals behind bars, and so I would urge anyone with information on the use of firearms in South Yorkshire to get in touch with us.”