Dorset farmer given community order after threatening to 'get my gun' at teen and family

A Dorset farmer was handed a community order after he threatened to shoot a teenager and his family outside their home, a magistrates' court heard.

Stephen Smith, 60, of Manor Farm in Studland on the Isle of Purbeck, pleaded guilty to using threatening or abusive words or behaviour and to possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate. District Judge Orla Austin sentenced him to 80 hours of unpaid work to be completed within 12 months and ordered him to pay £85 in costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

Magistrates in Weymouth were told Smith woke at about 3:50 a.m. after hearing a noise in his house and found a teenage boy outside his daughter's bedroom. The boy, who had been invited by the daughter to go and watch the sunrise, left after being asked to do so. Smith later said he expected the boy to apologise but no apology was forthcoming.

Prosecuting, Laura Lohk told the court that after stewing on the matter Smith went to a pub to watch the European Championships final. Having consumed some alcohol, Smith took a large tractor and trailer to the boy's address, left the vehicle running with lights on outside the property, and walked toward the house. A confrontation followed between Smith and the boy's mother. Neighbours witnessed the disturbance and police were called at about 11:30 p.m. on July 14 last year.

According to the prosecution, during the argument Smith shouted abusive language and told the family, "I should have shot him, f*** it I'm going to get my gun and shoot you all." The victim's mother described those threats as alarming.

Smith's defence lawyer, Ian Daly, told magistrates his client was "old school" with "certain values" and that his behaviour was out of character. Daly said Smith, who has run Manor Farm for about 33 years and is well regarded in the local community, possessed a gun cabinet and some ammunition but did not own a firearm. He said there was no prospect of the threat being carried out and Smith had no intention to use the ammunition.

"What he said was puerile and he cringes at what he did," Daly told the court, asking for a proportionate sentence given Smith's background and the references submitted on his behalf.

District Judge Austin described the incident as "disgraceful" and a "serious matter" that warranted a community order. She said the words used by Smith were frightening and left the family unsure whether he intended to carry out the threat.

Smith admitted the charges. He was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work within 12 months and to pay court costs and a victim surcharge. The case drew attention in the affluent Studland community, a popular holiday destination on Dorset's coast, where neighbours had witnessed the late-night disturbance.

No firearm was reported to have been used during the incident, and police involvement followed the neighbours' call after the confrontation. The magistrates' ruling emphasised the seriousness of threatening language even where no weapon is produced and balanced that with the defendant's lack of prior firearm convictions and the character references presented on his behalf.