Judge takes pity on local ‘hero’ who fired a gun to scare off yobs

Volunteer park-keeper and cafe owner Francis McDonald, 42, was spared jail after he admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

The father-of-five discharged his legally-held double-barreled gun into the air near the teenagers, but was thrown into police cells for 48 hours after parents of one of the children complained.

Judge Alan Goldsack, the Recorder of Sheffield, said anyone firing a gun in this way could normally expect custody.

But he told McDonald: “Because of your character, the circumstances of your offence and the community view, it will not be applied in this case.”

The judge said: “It is quite clear from the letters I have received about you from many people in that area that you have transformed that place into somewhere where the public can enjoy going, and they are very grateful.”

Instead of being jailed, McDonald was given an eight-month prison term, suspended for a year, and ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid community work.

But he has now lost his good name, his job and – from next month – his home.

Afterwards the single father said: “I regret what I did, but those kids were never in any danger. I wouldn’t hurt a fly. It was just a mad moment of frustration.

“Most of the local residents are saying I did right and are fully supporting me. I didn’t, but that is their opinion.”

McDonald has five children aged between eight and 24. He separated from his partner 10 years ago and has brought up his youngest son, Ben, on his own after Ben’s mother died.

He told how, over the last two years, Elsecar Park, near Barnsley, had been plagued by teenage anti-social behaviour.

McDonald lives in a cottage next to the park cafe. His voluntary park-keeping duties have helped Elsecar win a Green Flag Award for being one of the best parks in the country and he has also run the cafe for the last four years.

Prosecutor Nicola Quinney told Sheffield Crown Court that the teenage yobs had been causing trouble through drinking, damaging plants, throwing cans around and hurling verbal abuse.

The problems had escalated by the evening of May 13 this year when McDonald padlocked the gates and about 15 youngsters began damaging plants which has only just been put in.

McDonald grabbed his shotgun, walked down to the bandstand and asked the teenagers to leave.

When they refused he fired off two shots in the air.

After his arrest he told police the teenagers had been verbally abusive and made threats to him.

“He wanted to scare them and frighten them off,” said Ms Quinney. “He accepted discharging the gun twice.”

She said one of the girls was frightened that he might shoot her and had suffered a panic attack. Another youth had sleepless nights but had now recovered.

Afterwards McDonald, who is a gun club member and has never been in trouble with the police before, said: “I do the park-keeping duties off my own bat and lock the gates in the evening. For the last two years there has been a load of trouble in the evenings with drinking, drug-taking and even youngsters having sex in the park.

“Locals who use the park complain about this anti-social behaviour all the time. It usually happens at weekends and then I have to go out in the morning and clean it all up. I do it because the park is for the public to enjoy.

“On the evening I got the gun out I had just had enough of watching them wreck the park.

“They were treading on plants by the bandstand which had just been planted that day at a cost of thousands of pounds. It is just wanton destruction.”

McDonald added that he “just wanted to frighten them off”.

He said: “ I regret what I did and have paid for it by losing my job, my home and everything. I’ve now got to find somewhere else to live after the council said they were stopping my lease from next month.”