Pellet gun teacher Richard West sacking: Head of physics reinstated Published duration 17 March 2014

image copyright Still from Midlands Today image caption Richard West was sacked from his job as head of physics in January

A teacher who was sacked for accidentally shooting a pupil with a pellet gun has been reinstated after an appeal.

Richard West, head of physics at St Peter's Collegiate School in Wolverhampton, accidentally shot the student during a science experiment.

Thousands of people supported a campaign to reinstate him, including the boy who was shot.

Mr West will return to work on 28 April, Wolverhampton City Council said.

He was dismissed in January following a disciplinary hearing.

It is believed the accident occurred during a classroom demonstration when a pellet ricocheted off a table.

The pellet hit a student in the leg, but he was uninjured.

In a statement, the school's governing body said Mr West, from Bridgnorth, Shropshire, had been reinstated "with immediate effect".