A man who shot dead his best friend in a drunken prank that went horribly wrong has been jailed for seven years.
Lee Marston was blasted through the mouth and died in a pool of blood after earlier borrowing a phrase similar to one used in a Dirty Harry movie - 'Go on then, make my day'.
Leicester Crown Court heard that Mr Marston and his pal Stephen Frewer, 38, had been drinking together in a pub.
Frewer was given a lift to his home in Loughborough, Leicestershire, and Mr Marston joined him later.
The court was told that as he approached the house Frewer levelled his double-barrelled Browning shotgun through the window.
Mr Marston, 41, said: "Go on then, make my day - do me a favour mate."
The two friends went into Frewer's bedroom laughing and joking. Mr Marston urged him to pull the trigger as he put the barrel into his mouth on more than one occasion.
Frewer asked him: "Are you ready mate?"
Philip Shears QC prosecuting said that the gun was fired and Mr Marston fell to the floor with blood pouring from his mouth.
His pal dropped the weapon and shouted "Oh my God, Oh my God."
Armed police answered a 999 call from the house, but Mr Marston had died almost instantaneously.
At first Frewer falsely claimed that his friend had shot himself.
Sentencing Frewer Judge Nicholas Dean said "I can only conclude it was a combination of drink and your cavalier attitude towards firearms that led you to act as you did.
"It wasn't deliberate and more likely it happened as he was moving the barrel when you had your finger on the trigger.
He was your best friend and you killed him That will stay with you, I am certain, for the rest of your life -- that he lost his life at your hands."
Frewer admitted manslaughter by gross negligence. The court heard that he held the shotgun legally.
After the case Detective Inspector Alex Hathaway said " Both men were intoxicated and began fooling around with a shotgun. This was a tragic accident that could so easily have been avoided."
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