A hot-headed cocaine addict plotted his revenge after he was kicked out of a Canterbury nightclub – and returned with a gun.

Ashley Lee, who was “hideously” high on drugs and booze, armed himself and returned to Chill in St George’s Place.

And as three bouncers looked on in horror, the 24-year-old took aim and fired the ball-bearing gun up to 15 times.

He injured one of the door staff, another missile went through a window causing £2,000 worth of damage and he left another bouncer fearing for his life.

Now Lee, of Chapel Road in Tilmanstone, Deal, has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years after the incident in the early hours of November 20.

Prosecutor Allison Phillips said that Lee had taken his MG car and attended the nightclub with a friend, but both were thrown out because of their behaviour.

She said: “He became aggressive and threatened doorstaff and this behaviour included threats that he was going to shoot them.”

He was later seen by staff in his car pointing a black handgun at them and firing between 10 to 15 times, frightening doorman Howard Llewellyn and hitting his colleague Ian Holmes in the upper arm.

"You were hideously drunk and high on cocaine and what you did caused one of your victims to fear for his life..." - Recorder Jason Dunn-Shaw

She said: “Mr Holmes described hearing between 10-12 shots and a whizzing noise. He put up his hands to protect his face and was hit under the left upper arm.”

Police began hunting for the shooter and later found Lee’s abandoned car, containing evidence he had also carried out a spate of raids in isolated villages in Kent.

Ms Phillips told Canterbury Crown Court how among the things stolen during the burglaries and thefts in November and December last year were jewels belonging to the victim’s dead wife and wrapped Christmas presents for children.

The judge, Recorder Jason Dunn-Shaw, was told that the drug addict now felt “empathy for his victims”, but he told Lee: “I reject that. Stealing children’s Christmas presents demonstrates you have no empathy at all!”

Lee admitted 18 charges of burglary, theft, assaults, possessing a firearm with intent and driving while disqualified and without insurance.

The judge told him: “You took a gun to the nightclub; your intention being to scare the living daylights out of the door staff who were just doing their lawful duty.

“At the time you were hideously drunk and high on cocaine and what you did caused one of your victims to fear for his life.”

The judge jailed Lee for three-and-a-half years for the burglaries and four years for the firearm offences and ordered the sentences to run consecutively.

He also ordered that the MG be confiscated and Lee, from Tilmanstone, be banned from driving for three years.