A TEENAGER is in hospital after being shot in the eye by a stray pellet while working on a clay-pigeon shoot.

Nathan Smalley underwent an operation on Sunday at Burnley General Hospital to remove part of the pellet from underneath his left eye.

Police said Nathan was shot on Sunday morning at Holt Farm, in Rishton. It is unclear at this stage how the 16-year-old, who works on the farm releasing the clay pigeons for the shoot, came to be injured.

Police are treating the injury as an accident and the Health and Safety Executive is investigating.

The Norden High School pupil, who this week was due to be sitting his final exam, was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary before being transferred to the eye unit at Burnley General Hospital, where he had surgery.

Nathan is expected to stay in hospital for most of this week. Staff today said he was "doing fine."

Nathan's parents, Mark and Cheryl, of George Street, Great Harwood, said it was lucky their son was not blinded.

Cheryl said: "He was very, very lucky. The nurses at Burnley said he could have lost his eye or at least his vision. It is very upsetting. He has just got his provisional licence and is due to take his bike test."

Dad Mark, a wagon driver, said: "We don't know what happened and we are just letting the professionals do their job at the moment."

Great Harwood Police Sergeant David Reddin said: "There has been an accident on Sunday morning when a 16-year-old received an eye injury from what appears to be a stray pellet.

"He was taken to Burnley General, where something was removed from his eye, and will be there for two or three days. We will follow up our inquiries later this week."

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said: "The police have made us aware of the incident and we will be commencing our investigations."

The farm, which is run by Edward Threlfall, has been running clay-pigeon shooting event or more than 20 years. Staff at the farm today said they had no comment to make on the incident.