A teenager, who armed himself with a pellet gun and fired it at the door of flats in Lowestoft during a feud with a group of young men, has narrowly escaped a custodial sentence.

Ipswich Crown Court heard how the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, fired five pellets at a communal door to flats in Albany Court and at the door of a flat inside the building.

After armed officers were deployed, the teenager was arrested and at the time he admitted that if he had come across members of the rival group he might have fired the weapon at them.

Daniel Taylor, prosecuting, said more than £100 damage was caused to doors at the flats by the pellet gun and the weapon was never recovered.

The youth admitted criminal damage and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in July.

He was given a two year youth referral order with a number of conditions, including supervision, and was ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work.

He was also given a six month electronically monitored curfew and banned from entering Lowestoft.

Sentencing him Judge Emma Peters warned the teenager he had narrowly avoided a period of detention and that would be an option if he reoffended or breached the order she had made.