AN auctioneer has been ordered to pay more than £23,000 in fines and costs after a Kidderminster customer lost part of a finger in a shooting incident in a saleroom.

Jazz violinist Jonathan Phipps was examining a starting pistol inside Andrew Grant's fine arts showroom when the gun accidentally went off.

A gas flame discharge badly injured the middle finger on his left hand and the tip had to be amputated.

Mr Phipps, 52, of Honeybrook Terrace, Franche, can no longer play professionally.

The weapon should only have been viewed under strict supervision, said Barry Berlin, prosecuting at Worcester Crown Court. He pointed out none of Grant's 90 employees had been given adequate health and safety training.

Grant, 58, of Bransford near Worcester, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Recorder Nigel Seed QC fined Grant £5,000 and ordered him to pay £18,443 prosecution costs.

The court heard the accident happened in December 2001, at a pre-auction review at Grant's showroom in Worcester.

The gun had been collected from a woman's house to sell.

Adrian Mackwell, the fine arts manager at the time, had a shotgun licence, but no training in safety, added Mr Berlin.

Mr Mackwell told investigators he had fired the pistol two or three times to see if it worked but did not know there was a cartridge left in the breach.

Graham Cliff, defending, said another employee claimed the gun was deliberately left loaded as a practical joke to frighten a member of staff.

However, the prosecution did not accept this explanation.

Mr Cliff said Grant accepted the buck stopped with him.

He had never before been prosecuted in 30 years of business and had taken steps to ensure adequate safety measures were now in place.

Grant was a well-respected member of the community, was involved in a great deal of charity work and had been extremely concerned about the incident.

The recorder added that he was not ordering compensation and said it was up to the civil courts to resolve liability.