A man has been jailed for a minimum of 27 years for fatally shooting another man with a crossbow.

Lee Atkins, 38, was shot with the crossbow on Monfa Road in Bootle, Merseyside, at about 1.50am on May 6 and later died in hospital.

David Ball, 49, of Brookhill Close in Bootle, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 27 years for his murder on Monday, a spokesman for Merseyside Police said.

Ball had retrieved the crossbow from a friend’s house and fired it at Atkins following an altercation in the street, police said.

Detective Chief Inspector Gayle Rooney said: “Ball chose to escalate a disagreement between two people who knew each other to a sickening level of violence, with tragic consequences.

“His decision has not only cost a man his life, and caused unspeakable suffering to all who knew Lee – it has now cost Ball his liberty for a long time.

“Thankfully the use of crossbows in Merseyside is rare, but anyone who carries or has access to weapons is capable of inflicting this level of violence on others.”

In a statement, Atkins’ family said: “Today’s sentencing is somewhat bittersweet as despite preventing Mr Ball from destroying any other families like he has with ours, we still do not have Lee with us.

“We will however be able to start our grieving process and learn to adjust without him, as the end of this court case has provided us with some closure.”