Three men who blasted a shotgun inches from the face of a 59-year-old drug dealer were jailed for a total of 30 years.

Teenagers Dominic Wooloff and Aaron Peters fired the weapon towards Ronald Glover at close range as he opened his front door in Brampton Road, Barton, Oxford, last April.

Daniel Annis, 23, was the getaway driver in what Oxford Crown Court heard was a bungled attempt to steal cash and a fresh consignment of cannabis.

All three defendants admitted conspiracy to rob and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

Neil Moore, prosecuting, said the trio carried out the attack at 10.15pm on April 21.

He said Mr Glover went to the door and Peters asked ‘Have you got any weed?’.

Mr Moore added: “As soon as that was said, Mr Glover noticed a second figure (Wooloff) running quickly towards him from behind the first.

“He (Wooloff) stooped down, holding something in front of him with one arm in front of the other.

“He (Mr Glover) did not identify it as a shotgun, but it obviously was.

“Mr Glover’s instinctive reaction was to shut the door and, as he did, there was a sound — a shotgun — very close to his right ear.

“The shot went off, he span round and collapsed on the floor.”

Mr Moore said the blast came from “a single shot from a 12-gauge shotgun” which singed the collar of Mr Glover’s shirt and damaged the wall behind him.

He said: “At the time he (Mr Glover) dealt in cannabis on a relatively small-time basis and did so from his home.”

The court heard the three defendants were arrested a month later and the police van they were put in together was bugged.

In one conversation, Annis said to Wooloff: “I’ve still got my tracksuit down at my yard (house), I’ve still got (inaudible) the gun, I’ll get caught. Oh my God.”

Wooloff, who wore a balaclava in the attack, replied: “(inaudible) f******* murderers”.

Later Peters told Wooloff’s brother Deran, who had also been arrested: “He shot him...your brother.”

David Hislop, defending Peters, 19, of Cardigan Street, Jericho, said: “This was a plan to rob a drugs dealer that went wrong.”

Lawrence Henderson, defending Wooloff, 19, of Pauling Road, Wood Farm, said: “He was put up to this escapade by somebody other than the friends in the car.

“He was running a bit of a debt and the way to deal with that debt seems to be by becoming involved with this escapade.”

Nicholas Syfret, defending Annis, of Chillingworth Crescent, Wood Farm, said: “There was a degree of incitement to the three defendants by another person.”

None of the barristers could answer where the shotgun, which has not been found, came from.

Judge Julian Hall sentenced Peters and Wooloff to ten years’ youth detention and Annis to ten years’ jail. Peters was also given a concurrent six-month sentence for stealing a bicycle in a burglary in Headington in May.

Judge Hall said: “The three of you committed offences which were completely out of your league.”

Outside court, the Glover family said: “We are very pleased with the result. We would now like start to rebuild our lives.”