Shotgun thug told girlfriend he'd 'shoot her in the face'

The proposed victim was among three women romantically involved with Jordan Williams, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

Lisa Bryan, who had angered the 23-year-old by telling police his BMW was uninsured, overheard him tell another person during the March 7 call: 'I am going to blast her in the face. I am not afraid to use the shotgun.'

Eight days later – hours after Williams and Miss Bryan had ended their short-lived relationship – he phoned the mother-of-three and said he was going to shoot her and Codie Dixon, another of the women in his life, said Mr Paul Spratt, prosecuting.

The threat was not taken seriously at the time because she was unaware that he was armed but shortly afterwards he took her hire car which had the loaded shotgun in the boot when found near Bridgnorth. He had dumped the vehicle – which had a tracker device – believing police had seen him at the wheel.

Mr Spratt said: "He accepts he was in possession of the gun when the threatening call was made to Miss Bryan." Williams maintained he was given the weapon by a man he was too fearful to name and asked to dispose of it.

Around two months earlier he had punched Miss Dixon and taken her Corsa as their relationship hit the rocks. The vehicle then crashed into a parked car but it is unclear who was diving.

The defendant is still in a relationship with a third woman, Katrina Anderson, who is expecting his child.

Mr Simon Hanns, defending, revealed: "He is now devoting himself to this one woman who is heavily pregnant.

"In the past the defendant has been in relationships with a number of ladies at the same time but now realises this leads to problems, not least of which is standing in the dock facing a prison sentence."

Williams of Victoria Road, Bridgnorth, who had several previous convictions for violence, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, two charges of taking a vehicle without permission, assault and harassment.

In an unrelated matter he also admitted taking a gold chain from the neck of a pregnant 19-year-old woman in Lime Street, Wolverhampton and punching a man who went to her aid.

Williams was banned from any contact with Miss Bryant, who has moved out of the area, Miss Dixon and the woman whose gold chain was taken, for the next 10 years.