Burglar Ronald Frost got more than he bargained for when he tried to break into the home of Poulshot pensioner Ivor Butler.

For Mr Butler, 77, a retired fire control operator, confronted him with an air rifle.

Frost, 20, of Holbrook Vale, Melksham, was terrified when Mr Butler appeared with the gun in hand after he tried to break in on March 11 this year.

He pleaded with Mr Butler not to shoot him. Mr Butler said: “I said I didn’t intend to shoot him but thought he ought to give himself up to the police.”

But Frost drove off in his car, Chippenham magistrates heard last Friday.

Mr Butler was sitting in his lounge at around 10.30 that evening when he saw the security light at the rear of the house go on. His wife Diana was upstairs in bed.

He said: “I thought it was rabbits as we have been plagued with them recently, so I picked up my .22 air rifle and went to the back.”

Mr Butler got the fright of his life when he went to the window and saw Frost peering back at him. Mr Butler said: “I could see him but, because the light was in his eyes, he couldn’t see me.”

Mr Butler ran out of the front of the house, still with the gun in his hand. He fired the weapon into the air and saw Frost run off into the darkness. A few minutes later, Frost came back and said to Mr Butler: “Please don’t shoot me.”

At no time did Mr Butler point the gun at Frost or threaten him with it.

Mr Butler added: “He told me he had young children and he needed money for food. I told him he would be better applying for welfare benefits.”

Frost had parked his car on the pavement outside Mr Butler’s house and, after talking to Mr Butler, he drove off. As he did so Mr Butler memorised the registration number and called the police.

As a result, Frost pleaded guilty to a three burglary and theft charges when he appeared in court.

He was given a community sentence, incorporating a supervision requirement and a four-week electronic tag curfew. His car was confiscated.