A slaughterman filmed firing his rifle at stray sheep "like in a shooting gallery" during the foot-and-mouth crisis has been cleared of breaching health-and-safety rules.

Marksman Adrian Walker, 33, shot at the flock in an open field near Abergavenny in south Wales while employed to cull sheep during last year's foot-and-mouth crisis.

I have been shooting since I was at school - I would say I was very proficient with shooting

Adrian Walker

He was accused of using his .22 rifle to shoot at sheep from a distance of 30 metres instead of the recommended 25cm - prompting householders to scream in horror.

A verdict of the jury of five men and seven women at Cardiff Crown Court found him not guilty on two counts of breaching health-and-safety laws - charges he had denied.

Captured on video by local resident Leslie Smith, Mr Walker's actions were some of the enduring images of the foot-and-mouth outbreak of 2001 in Wales.

That video tape was shown in court.

Mr Walker was filmed wandering through a field at Gilwern, near Abergavenny, wearing white protective clothing and shooting at 21 ewes and 11 lambs, which had strayed close to a main road.

Movement of sheep was restricted at the time

The butcher was hired by Monmouthshire County Council to kill stray animals which had been rounded up amid fears they may have been carrying foot-and-mouth disease.

In May, the local authority pleaded guilty to two breaches of the the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 over the incident.

Sentence was delayed pending the marksman's trial.

Mr Walker, of Grosmont, near Abergavenny, had held a slaughterman's licence for more than two years and - since he was 16 - a firearms certificate, which police had amended for the cull job.

He stopped the shooting after distressed residents living yards from the field voiced their concerns about what was happening.

Locals's safety

The trial heard there was a danger of his bullets richocheting toward nearby householders, who, it was said, were screaming in horror.

Both a police marksman and a Welsh international rifle shooter earlier told the court that Mr Walker should not have fired from so far away.

But the slaughterman told the jury he was instead trying to ensure locals' safety by marking out a safe shooting area.

"I was very familiar with the area as I had played there as a young person," he said.

"I looked at the field and identified the main route up to the road was out of bounds to shoot the sheep as there were houses there.

Task force

"I have been shooting since I was at school. I would say I was very proficient with shooting."

He told the court that "safety, safety and safety" was his main concern on the day.

He said that, had pens been made available on the day, he would have used them to round up the sheep.

Martin Hickey, a Monmouthshire County Council trading standards officer, admitted in court that the council had not provided any sheep hurdles.

The court heard that after the incident, sheep hurdles and special task force were provided to deal with any similar situations.

'Shock' at verdict

Judge John Griffith Williams QC told the jury: "I have formed a view about the actions of the county council.

"It was seriously deficient in the way in which they dealt with the matters."

Health and Safety Executive inspector Michael Fenney said he was "shocked" by the verdict.

"I am very suprised and disappointed," he said.

Mr Walker refused to comment after the case.