Terrified residents were targeted by a teenager who used an air rifle to take pot shots from a window on Tuesday night.

A 17-year-old youth - who cannot be named for legal reasons – was arrested after police were called to the scene in Clemence Street, Limehouse last Tuesday.

Local resident Stephen Tabone said the air gun pellets missed his head by a matter of inches when he was shot at after getting out of his car outside his home.

“I feared for my life”, he said. “If they had hit my head I may have been dead. He just missed me because he was a bad shot.

The 41-year-old added: “Who knows what goes through the minds of such people?”

Mr Tabone called emergency services after getting into his house safely. Around 10 police cars reportedly attended the scene, before the youth dropped the weapon from a window and was arrested. He was later cautioned by police, who recovered the weapon.