A South Hams kick boxing instructor allegedly opened fire with an automatic BB gun on a class of children during a lesson.

Martial arts enthusiast Peter Sheridan sprayed the 10 to 12-year-olds with 70 pellets as they dived behind a curtain to avoid them, a jury was told.

He allegedly ordered the boys and girls to run faster as he fired at them, hitting three of them and leaving them with small marks on their bodies.

The shootings happened at the end of a class at which Sheridan had been teaching six children at the Quayside Leisure Centre in Kingsbridge, Exeter Crown Court was told.

The jury has been shown the realistic looking rifle and magazine which were seized from Sheridan’s home after some of the parents complained.

International kick boxer Sheridan, 46, of Kingsway Park, Kingsbridge, denies possession of an imitation firearm and three counts of assault by battery.

He denies firing at the children or hitting them and told the police the gun was a toy. He says he dropped a box of pellets which were later found by staff.

Kelly Scrivener, prosecuting, said the six children, three of whom were cousins, went to the class on December 17, 2016. which went normally until Sheridan became frustrated at one child who was not following instructions.

She said he sent his 18-year-old son Connaire to his car to fetch the gun and then opened fire.

Miss Scrivener said: "He said words to the effect ’if you don’t do the exercise properly I will shoot you’. He then discharged the gun, firing ball bearings around the sports hall towards the children.

"Not surprisingly the children cowered behind a curtain and he started hitting the curtain with white plastic 6mm pellets. They were very small and fired in automatic or semi automatic mode."

Staff later recovered 70 pellets from the hall and one of the children took one home with her. The gun was seized along with a magazine with 60 pellets left in it.

Miss Scrivener said Sheridan had no reasonable excuse and should have realised that firing it at the children risked causing them injury.

The father, who was at the class with a 10-year-old boy, said Sheridan had fired the gun to make the children run faster as they were doing circuits around the hall.

He said: "They were running up and down and they started slowing down. He said to Connaire ’get the gun, that will speed them up’. He came back and passed it to Pete and he just opened fire on all the children.

"The children carried on running with him shouting ’run, run faster’. The children were shocked. I felt intimidated and wanted to leave.

"The children were all rather shocked. They were scared. My son had been shot on the back. Between them the children had several marks.

"He was firing directly across at the children. He did not seem to care. I did not think he would actually fire at them. When he got the gun I thought it was a prank until he actually fired. I was very concerned when he did so."

The children ended the lesson by bowing to Sheridan and the police were called after the children got home and the parents saw the pellet marks.

The trial continues.