Catastrophic: David Jeffers' sexual game went wrong

A man who left his partner for dead after accidentally firing a shotgun while it was inserted into her vagina to fulfill her sexual desires has been jailed for ten years.

David Jeffers, 47, fled in panic from a Britannia hotel in Manchester leaving his partner disfigured on the bed after their fantasy went catastrophically wrong.

The 46 year-old victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been left with life changing injuries to her bladder and female reproductive organs but amazingly survived.

In the days before their rendezvous, she told Jeffers of her sexual desires via text message, saying: 'I can't sleep, so excited.'

The victim, who worked as a manager in Stockport, Greater Manchester, had arranged and paid for him to stay with her at the hotel on January 30.

The couple consumed drink and drugs before engaging in sexual activity.

Jeffers, who lives in Harehills, Leeds, inserted the loaded shotgun, which he claims to have found in the toilet of the Wetherspoon's pub at Leeds train station, into her vagina before accidentally pressing the trigger.

As his victim lay naked on the bed, Jeffers phoned reception to ask for help before dressing himself and fleeing the hotel via a rear exit.

He made his way to Piccadilly train station where he caught a train back to Leeds in the early hours.

When a hotel employee went up to the room, the victim murmured: 'I am in agony, I am going to die'.

She was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary with multiple gun shot pellets in the abdomen and received significant trauma injuries. Emergency surgery saved her life.

In hospital, she told doctors of the traumatic experience and claimed that Jeffers was a 'bad man' who tried to 'blow her insides out.'

Today at Manchester Crown Court, Jeffers, who was due to stand trial for attempted murder, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life after it emerged the victim had agreed to take part in the act as part of her own sexual fantasy.

He was jailed for ten years for what a judge described as 'a sexual fantasy with dreadful consequences'.

The weapon, never recovered after Jeffers dumped it in a Stockport bin, was described in court as an 'antique' shotgun, the size of a small handgun, which fired.410 pellets and was usually used to kill vermin.

Crime scene: The Britannia hotel in Stockport where the incident happened in January

Prosecuting, Peter Wright QC, said: 'There was consensual sex and at some stage the defendant inserted the loaded firearm into her vagina which was then discharged, casing catastrophic internal injuries.

'As she lay grievously injured the defendant dressed and took with him the firearm and his mobile phone, using the room phone to dial reception and request an ambulance indicating that a female had been shot.

'He then left the hotel by the rear exit where he then fled to Leeds making no further enquiries about his victim's well-being.

'The night manager who answered the phone went upstairs to investigate and once in the room he saw her laying naked face down on the bed and was in-coherent saying she had been shot. She was in considerable pain saying: "I am in agony, I am going to die".

I'm in agony, I'm going to die

'Paramedics attended the scene and attempted to save her life and she was moved to Manchester Royal Infirmary. During the journey to the hospital her health deteriorated and paramedics formed the view that she was at risk of dying.

'She was found with multiple gun shot pellets in the abdomen and received significant trauma to her bladder, vagina and uterus.'

Police later arrested Jeffers in Leeds. He told police that he had known the victim for many years and had recently begun an intimate relationship.

Jeffers' barrister, Oliver Saxby QC, told the court his client had 'absolutely no intention of harming her', adding: 'The gun being discharged was not by a deliberate act. He accepts that he was in possession of it when it went off but it was not deliberate.

Today at Manchester Crown Court Jeffers, who was due to stand trial for attempted murder, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life

'The pair were mutually supportive of each other and they talked in intimate terms, past, present and future and the newsagents from which they purchased alcohol described the pair as looking like a 'new couple' and this was a relationship which was perfectly happy.

'He panicked and called reception and it was then he fled to Leeds but that is where he is from. He was concerned and obviously made enquiries into her well-being.

'When arrested he co-operated with police and spoke of his shame and regret, this was someone he was close with and intimate with and who has had her life altered by what happened.'

The court heard how Jeffers has no relevant previous convictions for offences of this nature.

Passing the 10 year sentence, Judge John Potter, said: 'You are 47 years of age and fall to be sentenced by me for an offence of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. You pleaded guilty to this offence under what is now an accepted basis after the jury was sworn.

'Your guilty plea saved this victim having to give evidence as she has recently suffered a lapse in her mental health meaning that she was unable to give evidence at your trial.'