A 16-YEAR-old schoolboy told of the terrifying moment he was hit by an airgun pellet fired by a gunman during a shooting spree in Accrington.

Leon Harwood, of Wellington Street, Accrington, was walking through Oakhill Park with a friend from Accrington, at 1.30pm on Saturday when seven youths appeared from behind some bushes 10 metres away.

He was shot in the pelvis by an air rifle and fled with his friend, who was unhurt.

Leon said: "I was scared and it was very painful. I had seen a gun straight away so I knew I had been shot."

Leon ran to a phone box in nearby Royds Street to phone the police.

He was taken to Blackburn Infirmary by ambulance to have the pellet removed and the wound cleaned and bandaged.

After four hours he was sent home with anitibiotics and painkillers.

A second incident involved an 11-year-old boy and happened at the entrance of Haworth Art Gallery, off Manchester Road, at 2.50pm and a third involved another 16-year-old nearby in Haworth Park shortly afterwards.

The second victim told police the weapon was also fired towards a passing bus.

A caller also reported that he could hear air weapon shots in the Rothwell Avenue area of the town at 10.25pm.

Leon, a pupil at Rhyddings High, Oswaldtwistle, said: "We were just walking through when they jumped out from some bushes ten metres away.

"My mate sprinted off and I followed and got shot. It hit me on my left hip. It was very painful and I just screamed and ran."