A 38-YEAR-OLD Bordon man was shot three times by a compressed air gun while taking part in the LiDBA charity Bike Ride earlier this month.

Jason Law, 38, of Sutherland Close, was hit three times as half a dozen shots were fired at him from a house on the outskirts of Rake.

Midhurst Police have since visited the property and destroyed six compressed air pellet guns ("BB" guns) confiscated from the house.

Jason said: "There were several hundred people riding past that house and its only by the grace of God no-one was seriously hurt." Mr Law, the managing director of a Borden company and a school governor, was taking part in the bike ride as part of the team entry for the Prince of Wales pub in Bordon.

Jason's ride had been fairly uneventful until his chain snapped at the top of a steep hill in the Rake area.

He got off his bike to try and repair the problem, before realising that he was not going to be able to sort it out on his own. While Jason was waiting for assistance from the LiDBA organisers, he heard a cracking sound, which at first he thought was coming from nearby trees.

He was shot at about half a dozen times by an individual in the house on the opposite side of the road. The plastic pellets had hit him in his left arm, chest and shoulder before he realised what was happening.

Jason said: " It was only when a pellet bounced off my shoulder that I realised the shots must be coming from the house on the opposite side of the street.

"It must have been a pretty powerful gun to hit me, as I was at least 30 metres away.

"I saw a youth with a rifle at the window for a very brief second - I kept looking at the house, but he did not reappear."

As a result of the problem with his bike, Jason was unable to move away from the area and was forced to wait on the spot for the recovery team to reach him.

Within a few of the minutes of the incident, the recovery team did arrive and took Jason further down the road.

The LiDBA organisers were then informed of the incident by mobile telephone. They told Jason there was no police presence or police liaison at Bohunt School, where the bike ride began and ended.

By phoning 999, Jason was put through to Hampshire Police, who referred the case to the Sussex Police.

Officers from Midhurst police station called at the property and questioned the occupants before confiscating six BB guns, including a fully automatic weapon.

Despite the setback, Jason was able to complete the ride and hopes to collect the £100 he raised in sponsorship money for the Prince of Wales pub over the next few weeks.

At first, Jason was told by Midhurst Police that he might have to go to the police station and give a witness statement. But, after speaking to the occupants of the house, they told him no further action would be taken.

"If one of the shots had taken my eye out, the police would have acted," said Jason. "But because the shots were fired from private property, they could claim the shots had gone astray. On the balance of probabilities, that seems highly unlikely.

"I was genuinely surprised that no one was charged over the incident, but it seems that the guns being taken away was a serious enough penalty."

Pc Paul Williams of Midhurst Police told The Herald the station had received a complaint from a member of the public.

He said officers visited the property in question and six BB guns were voluntarily surrendered for destruction by the occupants.

Pc Williams said: "Unfortunately we were unable to take any further action, because we could not identify who in the house was responsible."

He added: "This is the first incident of this sort that I have ever been aware of in the area." LiDBA publicity officer Gordon Hall said:

"Obviously we always advise people taking part in the ride to take all the necessary safety precautions, but occasionally things like this happen that are completely out of our control."