A gunman who held a weapon to man's face and pulled the trigger three times but failed to fire a bullet has been given a life sentence.

Lee Connors pointed the handgun at Grant MacBeth and tried to discharge the weapon before fleeing from the scene.

When police recovered the revolver they found there were three bullets in the six chambers of the gun.

The Smith and Wesson weapon was capable of firing but was erratic.

Connors, 30, was previously told by trial judge Lord Uist: "This case is about as near to murder as you can possibly get - pointing a loaded revolver at someone's head and trying to fire."

The High Court in Edinburgh was told on Tuesday that Connors had already been serving a five-year sentence for another firearms crime and had been assessed as posing a high risk to the safety of the public.

Kimberley Dow, who also had the gun pointed at her by Connors during the murder bid earlier told his trial: "He pulled the trigger three times at Grant."

She said: "I heard the clicks. Click, click, click," adding: "I can still hear the clicking in my head today."

Connors, also known as Hunter, had earlier denied attempting to murder Mr MacBeth on October 25 2014, at Barn Park in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, by presenting the revolver at him and attempting to discharge it.

He lodged a special defence of alibi, claiming he had been first at his mother's home and then a girlfriend's in Tranent, in East Lothian.

Connors was found guilty of the offence as well as assaulting Ms Dow, 23, by pointing the gun at her.

He was also convicted of a breach of the peace and firearms offences, including illegal possession of the gun and ammunition.

Connors was charged following a police probe into a number of shootings in south Edinburgh in September 2014.

Detectives found evidence at an address in Baxter's Neuk, Tranent, which led them to a farm in Haddington, East Lothian, where they found the revolver buried on the site.

Ms Dow told the court that before the incident, Connors had contacted her and said he needed help.

She said: "I was going to put him up. I was scared for his safety the way he was acting.

"I felt so bad because he said there was people after him," she said.

They went to her flat in Barn Park, where she saw the gun for the first time.

She said he asked her to store the weapon at her house but she refused and he hid it in the Juniper Green, Edinburgh.

Ms Dow said the next day, she was walking with Mr MacBeth towards his car when Connors arrived with the weapon.

She claimed he pointed the gun at her before turning it on Mr MacBeth and pulling the trigger three times.

Advocate depute Craig Murray asked her how she knew that and she replied: "Because I heard the clicks. Click, click, click."

She said she had thrown her keys before the trigger was pulled as she was trying to take Connors' attention from the other man.

Neighbours who believed they had seen a gun in the street contacted police following the incident.

Connors told the court that the gun and bullets which were recovered were never in his possession.

His defence solicitor, advocate Vincent Belmonte, told the High Court in Edinburgh: "The accused maintains his innocence of all the charges."

Judge Lord Ericht told Connors: "You have been found guilty of attempted murder using a firearm. I regard this offence as extremely serious and it appears it was mere luck that resulted in the firearm nor discharging which would have had even more serious consequences."

Detective chief inspector Kenny Gray said following the sentencing: "Lee Hunter demonstrated on a number of occasions his willingness to use a firearm to intimidate his victims and cause fear and alarm to the public.

"Despite attempting to conceal the handgun, robust inquiries by the organised crime and counter terrorism unit, Edinburgh CID and East Lothian officers, we recovered the weapon and charged Hunter with a number of offences.

"His sentence reflects the joint commitment of both Police Scotland and the Crown Office to identify those who illegally possess and utilise firearms and bring them to justice."