THAMES Valley Police’s firearms procedures which led to the shooting of a call centre worker were yesterday labelled “a disaster waiting to happen”.

Pc David Micklethwaite, 52, left 999 call handler Keith Tilbury fighting for his life after shooting him in the stomach with a Magnum .44 revolver during a classroom demonstration at the Kidlington North headquarters on May 30, 2007.

Micklethwaite had mistakenly loaded the weapon with a live round, taken from a 10-year-old Quality Sweet tin in which both live and blank ammunition was kept.

Yesterday the force was fined £40,000 and Pc Micklethwaite, who had failed a firearms safety course previously, £8,000 after they admitting breaching health and safety.

Deputy Chief Constable Francis Habgood said he was embarassed by the blunder.

Mr Tilbury was unconscious for 12 days and needed life-saving operations on his kidneys and bowels. He has never returned to work.

Investigators found 22 live rounds mixed among blanks in the tin used by firearms officers to store their ammo. Bullets were also kept in a tupperware box and a baby food tin.

At Southwark Crown Court, Judge Nicholas Lorraine-Smith said it was a “disaster waiting to happen.”

He said: “The inherent danger in such a system is glaringly obvious.”

He added: “There seem to have been serious lapses in the control and supervision of the basic firearms awareness course. No gun should ever be pointed at anyone who the gun handler does not intend to shoot.

“It is vital for public confidence that the police should be seen to be safe with weapons at all times.”

Mr Habgood said he was “stunned and embarrassed” – and insisted no officer had ever fired a round, live or blank, in a police classroom before. He will now decide whether to investigate Pc Micklethwaite’s actions.

He said: “The investigation tried to piece it together, but nobody can really explain why he did what he did on the day. If it had been in character, then Pc Micklethwaite would not be a firearms officer.”

New rules mean that all guns used in classroom demonstrations must be deactivated. The Health and Safety Executive said the force now had model procedures in place.

Mr Habgood added: “We would never let something like this happening again.

“The weapons and ammunition are in such a state that they cannot be dangerous.

“With the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to see that should have been the case before.”

Oxfordshire Rifle Club’s pistol and sport rifle committee chairman Colin Reed said: “I despair. Keeping mixed live rounds and blanks together is utterly incomprehensible, and having live ammunition in a classroom with a firearm sounds like a gross breach of safety.

“Even if a gun is empty, you don’t point it at anyone.”

Thames Valley Police must also pay £25,000 costs while Pc Micklethwaite – who did not attend the hearing – must pay £8,000 costs.