A MAN who was shot with an air rifle while celebrating New Year’s Eve in Machynlleth has spoken out about the attack which left one friend unconscious and another in hospital.

Marc Evans, a 20-year-old barman from Pennal, was one of the men shot during the incident - suffering a pellet injury in his lower back.

Two other men were shot in the buttock and chest respectively after stopping in the street to speak to Mr Evans, a former schoolmate of both men.

Speaking to the Cambrian News, Mr Evans said: “I was out with a couple of my friends and we were heading back up town to go to the Red Lion when we bumped into a small group of people we knew from school.

“We started talking with them, then all of a sudden the one guy we bumped into moaned and said he was calling the police.

“I had already been shot but I didn’t feel it at the time — I don’t know if it was adrenaline or not. I then felt a sting on my lower back and asked my friend to check it, and they said I had been shot.”

Mr Evans claimed the culprit then assaulted his friend, leaving him unconscious.

A 27-year-old Machynlleth man has been arrested on suspicion of assault and was released on police bail pending further investigations.

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