Tech Tycoon sued for £3million by lad he blasted with shotgun was ‘living in fear of urban explorers’
A TYCOON being sued by a lad he blasted with a shotgun says he lived in fear of urban explorers targeting his property.
Tech millionaire Gary Steele, 63, insists it was by accident he shot Tom Frearson, 16, who wants £3million damages.
Steele claims his Witley Estate in Surrey was repeatedly visited by trespassers wanting to explore its historic follies.
Some were taking part in an online challenge to get into a glass-domed underwater ballroom.
His lawyer, Laura Johnson KC, said: “The defendant and his partner felt unsafe in their home.”
He shot the boy over a wall to warn off a group of trespassers, she added.
Tom, now 21, of Hambledon, Surrey, struggles to use his left hand and faces dozens of operations to remove pellets.
He says his intended career path as a mechanic, as well as his ability to care for himself, has been blighted because he cannot grip properly with his injured left hand.
He has also been left traumatised and with scarring which makes him self-conscious and faces up to 50 more operations to dig the shot out of his body.
In the court action, he is claiming around £1m for lost future earnings and another £1.1m for future care and assistance.
But Steele is defending the claim, claiming his actions were neither deliberate nor reckless.
Steele was cleared of his attempted murder.