A rabbit-shooter in Essex had a shock when a rifle cartridge went off in his pocket.

Gareth Jones from South Norfolk was shooting rabbits at night on a golf course when the spare battery for his night vision short-circuited through a .17HMR round, and set it off. It gave him a minor burn on his stomach.

Until the incident, Gareth kept his rifle cartridges and loose batteries for his night vision in the same front pouch on his coat. He now plans to keep them separate.

Ammunition burns but causes no other damage if its powder is ignited outside the chamber of a gun. In 2012, the US-based Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute released a video on ammo and fire. With firefighters standing by, it set fire to more than 400,000 rounds of ammo in a series of tests. The film dispels myths and demonstrates what really happens when ammunition is burned, dropped, or crushed.