A DEVASTATED uncle has spoken of the moment he killed his 13-year-old nephew in a shooting accident.

In what he described as "the biggest mistake of my life", Andrew Pennell told an inquest in Hereford yesterday how Scott Wadley received a fatal blast to the chest while they were hunting woodcock.

The tragedy happened at Ford Abbey Farm at Docklow, near Leominster, on Saturday, February 2.

An emotional Mr Pennell, supported by Scott's family, recalled how he thought his nephew was joking around when he collapsed after the shot.

"It was in the railway cutting," said Mr Pennell.

"A woodcock had come out of the bank and Scott said 'look, look, look, there's one, there's one'.

"I turned back 180 degrees and followed the bird along the line of the track trying to get an aim.

"As I did and pulled the trigger, I was aware Scott was in front of me."

Mr Pennell, of Quedgley, Gloucestershire, tried desperately for 15 minutes to revive Scott with mouth-to-mouth before running to get help.

Builders working at Ford Abbey Farm, owned by the Heijn family - owners of Hereford's Left Bank Village restaurants - raised the alarm and the air ambulance was scrambled at around 10.30am.

Scott of Longlevens, near Gloucester, was declared dead at Leominster Community Hospital.

Pathologist Dr Edmund Tapp who conducted the post-mortem, said the shot from Mr Pennell's 12-bore shotgun had entered Scott's chest from a distance of five to 10 yards.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Deputy Herefordshire Coroner Mark Bricknell said guns and children were a "lethal cocktail".

In a statement, Scott's family paid tribute to him.

"Scott was such a popular boy, full of life, really bubbly and he loved being outdoors, especially in the countryside," it read.

"He really enjoyed shooting and spent many happy hours on such trips with his uncle."