A parish council chairman shot his neighbours’ dog dead because its early morning barking annoyed him, a court heard yesterday.

Phil Bishop, a retired television executive who directed shows including Top of the Pops and Game for a Laugh, hit the Bedlington terrier in the heart with a single pellet from his .22 air rifle.

Eight-year-old Foggy died minutes later in the arms of his sobbing owner, Sue Currah, 53, as she and her husband, Simon, 56, tried to get him to a vet.

Bishop, 71, insisted that he had not deliberately aimed at the dog from his study window in Brinton, Norfolk. He claimed that he was trying to hit a metal bench in the next-door garden to make a noise that would scare him back indoors.

He was given a two-year conditional discharge by King’s Lynn magistrates after admitting causing unnecessary suffering. But he was also ordered to pay £1,750 compensation to Mr and Mrs Currah and £60 costs.

Bishop opened fire at 7.10am on August 1 after the Currahs let their dog into the garden just before going for a walk. He said the barking upset him because he had had a sleepless night watching over his mentally ill daughter. But Yvonne Neill, prosecuting, said he had aimed at the dog, hitting its flank. Mr and Mrs Currah went to investigate after hearing Foggy yelp and thought at first that he might have been stung by a hornet. The dog was shaking with pain and died during the drive to a surgery in Sheringham. His body was X-rayed and the sharp-tipped hunting pellet was seen in his heart.

Mrs Neill added: “The owners suspected the defendant as they knew he had an air rifle. They had lived next door to him for 15 years and they did not get on.”

Police went to Bishop’s home two days later and he admitted hitting the dog after aiming at the bench. However, the pellet showed no sign of having ricocheted off a metal object, and a gunsmith told the court that he was 95 per cent certain it had been fired at the aminal.

Mrs Neill said the shooting had had a “a huge emotional impact” on the Currahs, who may move house over it.

Mr Currah, an international auditor and father of two, said he and his wife considered Foggy an important part of the family. He said: “I was walking through the kitchen when I heard Foggy barking in a challenging manner.

“Foggy was at the front of the house and Sue shouted for him to be quiet because we were concerned about disturbing people.”

Mr Currah said he then heard Foggy yelp and saw his pet limping before toppling over on his side. The couple tried to resuscitate Foggy before arriving at the surgery. Mrs Currah sobbed during the hearing as she clutched Foggy’s black collar, still with his name tag attached.

In a victim impact statement she said she had lost weight and suffered sleepless nights. She added: “I keep on playing it over and over in my mind like a tape. I will never be able to forget it. I keep on reliving what happened. He didn’t deserve to die in this cruel way. Home doesn’t feel like home any more. My world has been turned upside down.”

Bishop told police that the dog had started barking under his window. Rob New, representing Bishop, said: “He accepts that firing the gun was more than reckless and bitterly regretted it from the moment he heard the dog was injured.”

Mr New said Bishop was a respected chairman of Brinton Parish Council. He had offered his resignation after the incident but councillors refused to accept it.

Mr and Ms Currah set up a website, www.rememberfoggy.com, after the shooting and collected 3,000 signatures online urging tighter laws on airguns.

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