A bungling crook who shot himself in the leg with a stolen gun while he broke into a car has been jailed for 20 years.

Hapless Justin McCall, 28, had pinched the handgun from a car he had broken into earlier the same night, in the city of Crestview in the US state of Florida on 4th January.

But as he rummaged through the contents of another car holding the gun he accidentally pulled the trigger shooting himself in the leg.

His screams of agony alerted the car owner, who then called police and paramedics, the First Judicial Circuit of Florida was told.

Ginger Bowden Madden, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida, said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “McCall accidentally discharged the firearm and shot himself in the leg, which resulted in McCall pleading for help from the very person whose vehicle he had just burglarised.

“Once on scene, Law Enforcement discovered not only that McCall was in possession of stolen items, but he was also wearing articles of clothing that he had recently stolen from other vehicles.

“At the time of the offences, McCall was on probation for Grand Theft of a Firearm.”

McCall was found guilty of breaking into cars in the city of Crestview, Florida, and sentenced to 20 years behind bars at a hearing on 6th March.

At the hearing, McCall was charged with 13 different crimes in relation to the series of automobile burglaries that occurred between late October 2022 and early January 2023.