A postman was almost blinded when he was shot between the eyes by an eight-year-old schoolboy with an air rifle.
Steven Tuck, 51, was on his rounds in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, when he head a voice shout 'I'm going to shoot you'. He then felt a sharp pain in his temple as the pellet hit him between the eyes.
The postie contacted the police after stumbling back to his van. Officers did not arrest the boy as he was under the age of 10 - the criminal age of responsibility.
Staffordshire Police have said they will be speaking to the boy's parents to give them 'suitable advice and warnings' about their son's behaviour.
Dad-of-one Steve, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, said: "I was walking along doing my normal delivery when I saw two young boys.
"I wasn't paying much attention but then I heard one of them shout, 'I'm going to shoot you'.
"I looked around and the next thing I knew I had been hit - I was lucky it didn't hit me in the eye because I could have been blinded.
"It hurt me. I had a lump on my head and was a bit shaken so I had to sit in my van to calm down.
"It was a massive shock. You don't expect to go to work and get shot. When the police told me they couldn't do anything because the boy was eight I was shocked."
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: "Police were called to reports a 51-year-old man had been shot with a BB gun while walking in Tunstall.
"The victim was struck in the head but did not receive medical treatment. The young person in question has been identified.
"Officers will be speak to them in the presence of their parents to give suitable advice and warnings about their child's behaviour.
"The age of criminal responsibility in the UK is 10 years old.
"This means under 10s cannot be arrested or charged with a crime. Enquiries are still ongoing."