A man has been arrested after an 11-year-old boy suffered “life-changing injuries” on a shooting trip.
Police and paramedics were called to a woodland near Catsfield around 11am on Thursday after an 11-year-old boy was injured when a shotgun was discharged.
Officers who found the boy at the scene said he had suffered a “serious, potentially life-changing wound” to his hip. The schoolboy was airlifted to hospital in London.
A 54-year-old man from Nottinghamshire was arrested at the scene on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, police said.
The boy had been with a party of adults in the woodland who were rough shooting, police said.
Rough shooting is a method of live quarry shooting where trained dogs are used to flush game out of the hedgerows, woods or other cover as shooters walk along.
A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: “An 11-year-old boy was injured when a shotgun was discharged in woodland near Catsfield on Thursday morning (August 31).
“Police and ambulance paramedics were called to the scene between Catsfield and Ninfield at 11.08am.
“The boy was with a party of adults who were rough shooting at the time of the incident and suffered a serious, potentially life-changing wound to his hip. He was airlifted to hospital in London.
“A 54-year-old man from Nottinghamshire was arrested at the scene on suspicion of grievous bodily harm.”
