Scott Benjamin, 30, was rushed to hospital after shooting himself

A notorious gang leader, known as 'The Shredder' accidentally shot himself in the groin and had to have his testicle removed, a court heard.

Scott Benjamin, 30, was rushed to hospital for surgery after shooting himself at a house in Walsall, West Midlands, but following the blunder police discovered he was in possession of two sawn-off shotguns.

Birmingham Crown Court heard Benjamin is believed to have had his finger on the trigger of the deadly firearm when it accidentally went off.

Shotgun pellets were also later found embedded in the road surface outside the property after the weapon was also fired out of a window.

Benjamin, of Solihull, West Midlands, pleaded guilty to being in possession of two sawn-off shotguns when he appeared in court yesterday.

Judge Kristina Montgomery QC said: 'This defendant does not present with the sort of treatable mental illness that would prevent his receiving an immediate custodial sentence.'

She told Benjamin: 'The court requires assistance to determine what risk you will pose to the public upon your eventual release and whether you should be given an extended sentence.'

Niall Skinner, defending, said: 'The facts of this case are particularly unusual. He was sentenced to six years for a like offence in 2011.'

The court was told Benjamin led a gang called the Pendeford Crew and had previously served a six-year prison sentence for possession of a gun.

Birmingham Crown Court heard Benjamin is believed to have had his finger on the trigger of the deadly firearm when it accidentally went off

He was jailed for six years in 2011 after police found a pistol loaded with seven bullets under a bed at his then girlfriend's house in Wolverhampton, West Mids.

He admitted possession of the firearm and ammunition, modified to explode on impact, on the basis that he was looking after it for a criminal associate.

Police had previously told a court that Benjamin - who had the street name Shredder - was linked to gang crime across the Midlands.

One of his close friends, 21-year-old Marlon Morris, was stabbed to death in Wolverhampton city centre by rival gang member Jamie Price, a son of dance music star Goldie, in 2008.