A CITY councillor's car was peppered with air pellets in a late-night shooting outside his home.
Balbir Sandhu was asleep in his bedroom when he heard the pellets smash the back windscreen of a BMW parked on his drive.
The 55-year-old, who represents Normanton ward, said the noise woke him and his family.
Once he saw the extent of the damage, he called the police, who are investigating.
Mr Sandhu, of Field Rise, Littleover, said: ''It was like something out of a war film.
''It was shocking and scary. If someone wants to have a go at me, then do it, but leave my family out of it.
"I was asleep and had the window open because of the warm weather.
"Then I was woken by this noise, like a 'tick-tick-tick' and then a smash which it turned out was the rear windscreen of the car.
"One of my sons came in and said 'Dad, someone is shooting at your car'."
The incident happened shortly before midnight on Wednesday. Mr Sandhu's wife, Jaswinder, 56, and sons Dapinder, 27, and Jatinder, 23, were in the house.
He estimates that between eight and 12 shots were fired at the car, which is a courtesy vehicle from a garage while his own is being serviced.
The shots smashed the rear windscreen and pellet marks were left on the boot.
Mr Sandhu said his 80-year-old father, Chain Singh Sandhu, also lives at the house but is recovering at the Royal Derby Hospital after a stroke. He said: "I think if my father had been here at the time this could have had grave consequences.
"He is not a well man at the moment. Had he heard all the commotion he might have had a heart attack."
Mr Sandhu said he had no idea why he had been targeted by the gunman.
He said: "Why me? Why my family? If someone wants to shoot me, then do it, but why threaten my family?"
Council leader Paul Bayliss said he spoke to Mr Sandhu yesterday.
Mr Bayliss said: ''This is very worrying and something I am taking very, very seriously.
''It is totally unacceptable that any councillor, whichever party they represent, is threatened with any type of violence and I will be chasing updates from those investigating it.''
Sergeant Chris Linscott said officers have conducted house-to-house inquiries and are looking at CCTV footage.
He said: "We are looking at this incident as potential criminal damage and we cannot at this stage disprove that an airgun of some type was used. It is one of the lines of inquiry we are following."
Jangir Khan, one of the other ward councillors for Normanton, said: "It is shocking. Who would do something like this to a nice guy like him?"
