A TEENAGER avoided jail despite admitting lying to police after his 13-year-old friend was shot in the head while they were shooting rabbits.

The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was given a six-month supervision order at York Crown Court, sitting in Leeds, after pleading guilty to intending to pervert the course of justice at an earlier hearing following the death of William Buffey.

William died from a gunshot wound to the back of his head following the incident at a disused quarry close to Carlton Husthwaite, near Thirsk, on February 20 last year.

The teenager initially told the police that an adult had been present, had said William was holding the rifle when it went off and that only one gun had been present at the scene.

But the court heard the boy later admitted these were all lies and that he was holding the rifle himself when he stumbled and the barrel of the gun hit a tree, firing the shot which killed his friend.

Sentencing, Judge David Bryant said he had no doubt the incident would live with the teenager forever and would have an impact on the rest of his life.

He said: "Your behaviour after the event was unworthy and must have increased the distress of the Buffey family unnecessarily.

"It is important that it should be in mind that I am not passing sentence for any offence directly connected with the tragic death of William Buffey.

"William's death was clearly a tragedy for him and his family, and I'm sure the hearts of everybody in this court go out to his family, but there's no reason to think William's death was anything other than a dreadful accident."

Prosecuting, Andrew Dallas said the two boys had been sitting and waiting to shoot rabbits in the overgrown and disused quarry when William, who was carrying a shotgun, decided to move further along and the defendant got up to follow with the rifle. Mr Dallas said: "He caught his foot on some wire or ivy and stumbled, nearly dropping the gun, but then it struck a tree and went off.

"He said he was pretty sure his hand was not on the trigger at the time but William had fallen forward and had clearly been shot."

Mr Dallas told the court that experts who examined the .22 BRNO rifle, which had a telescopic sight, said it was possible that the gun could go off when the barrel was knocked, regardless of whether or not the safety catch was engaged.

In mitigation, Christopher Knox said the defendant's family had already arranged for him to see a counsellor, as the death of his friend had had a huge impact on him.

The defendant, who was 15 at the time of the incident, also admitted possessing a firearm and ammunition without the appropriate certificates.

His co-defendant, Anthony Knowles, 68, of Barugh Farm, Carlton Husthwaite, pleaded guilty to charges of aiding and abetting the boy in relation to the firearms offences. He also admitted failing to comply with the conditions of a shotgun certificate and was fined a total of £600.

Speaking outside the court, Detective Inspector Dai Malyn, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "The (Buffey) family feel it's inappropriate to comment on the sentencing and have no real feelings because they still don't know what went on in the quarry that day.

"We've put a lot of effort into this case and the one question the family want to know is what happened to their son and I still feel that we can't answer that," he said.

"The misleading information given by the 16-year-old defendant no doubt obstructed our inquiry."

Updated: 11:55 Saturday, January 15, 2005