AN Andover man has spoken of his terror after being shot twice in his chest and hip as he walked home through King Arthur's Way.

Doctors say Billy Morris is 'lucky to be alive' after the two pellets - believed to be from an air rifle -embedded themselves deep into his body, missing his heart by inches. "It feels like I've got a permanent stitch running down my side," said Billy who was due to start a new job in Andover on Monday as a mechanic.

"The pellets are still inside me and I can feel them, especially at night when I'm lying down. It's uncomfortable and painful and it's likely I'll need surgery to have them removed," he said.

The shooting happened on Sunday morning as 19 year-old Billy left his mum's house in Launcelot Close at 11.45am. He was heading for Tintagel Close and was almost there when he heard two loud 'bangs', felt an impact and fell to the ground.

"I was dizzy and I was a bit shocked and worried at first, but I didn't notice anything different to start with. It wasn't until I got home and I took off my jumper that I saw the holes in my shirt and all the blood."

An ambulance was called and Billy was taken to hospital in Winchester where X-rays have shown the deepest pellet is buried three inches into Billy's body.

Billy's mum, Denise Watt says she's outraged. "I think it's absolutely disgusting; not just that it's Billy, but because there are so many kids who play around there, one of them could have got hurt."

She added: "There are some people about who haven't got any regard for others but unfortunately I think it's the way of estate life these days."

Police in Andover say they're taking the incident very seriously but warn that incidents like this are not common. Pc Ted Reynolds from Andover CID said: "This was either an ignorant attack by someone or a reckless act of stupidity.

Although air weapons are not licensed, they do come under strict guidelines for their use. To possess a loaded air weapon in a public place is an arrestable offence, so to fire at a person makes this particular offence very serious."

"We'd ask anyone who has any information on this attack to contact us immediately on 0845 045 45 45", said Pc Reynolds.