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| Man jailed over nail gun fantasy | Man jailed over nail gun fantasy |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A man who shot himself with a nail gun then pretended a gang had attacked him has been sent to prison after admitting perverting the course of justice. | A man who shot himself with a nail gun then pretended a gang had attacked him has been sent to prison after admitting perverting the course of justice. |
| David Russell, 38, of Widden Street, Gloucester, told police he had been set upon by three men and shot seven times. | David Russell, 38, of Widden Street, Gloucester, told police he had been set upon by three men and shot seven times. |
| He later pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and at Gloucester Crown Court the judge jailed him for two-and-a-half years. | |
| In court he was described as "a very convincing fantasist". | In court he was described as "a very convincing fantasist". |
| Russell had claimed thousands of pounds in compensation, saying he was unable to work after being shot on 11 August - but police became suspicious of his account of the attack. | |
| The court also heard that Russell - a man who told "audacious lies" - had made an identical claim in Bristol three years ago. | |
| 'Sick joke' | |
| Julian Kesner, prosecuting, said: "He injured himself twice, was operated on twice and, in connection with the first incident received over £4,000 from the criminal compensation board." | |
| After the last incident in August, Russell was left with five two-inch (5.1cm) nails stuck in his ribcage - one an inch (2.5cm) from his heart - and two more buried in his forearm. | |
| Russell had told the police a mixed race man wearing a black and white bandana pushed a 10-inch (25cm) long orange and black nail gun against his chest and fired it repeatedly. | |
| He said he had stumbled backwards and swung for his assailant in self-defence before two more nails were blasted into his arm. | |
| He was taken to the Gloucester Royal Hospital, where doctors performed an hour-long operation to remove the nails the following day. | |
| The nails hit his forearm with such force that the tips were bent as they hit the bone. | |
| Russell told reporters from his hospital bed that the attack was "like some kind of sick joke for these kids". | |
| "These people must be caught and punished. It could have been my wife with our baby or anyone else innocently minding their own business," he said. |