A deputy business editor was left with four pellets embedded in his face after surviving a "ride-by" shooting while enjoying a drink in a pub.

The Liverpool Daily Post and Echo's Tony McDonough, 39, was in a boozer in the West Derby area of the city on Saturday night when armed bikers sprayed the doorway of the pub with pellets.

Undeterred by his predicament and injuries, the Web 2.0-savvy journalist updated his friends of the ordeal using Twitter.

Tony, in the Echo's splash above, was one of three men injured in the shooting which left him with four pellets embedded in his face after taking cover under a table.

Doctors said it was best to leave them there when he was discharged from hospital.

He told the Echo: "We were sitting around a table inside the pub and were about ten feet from the doors which were wide open.

"Suddenly I heard a pop like a champagne cork popping and felt something in the side of my face. It felt like someone had thrown a load of ball bearings at me.

"I knew straight away we were being shot and I dived to the floor. Two of the three other people I was sitting with were also hit.

"At first I thought it couldn’t be that bad because I felt okay. But then I touched my face with my hand and it was covered in blood.

"I lay there wondering if I was about to die. I could hear people screaming and could see everyone else had dived for cover too."

He added: "Everyone in the pub was brilliant. They were really kind and helped me to make sure I was okay. The emergency services were excellent throughout too."

The pub was one of three targeted in a short space of time on Saturday night by a gang on motorbikes.

Police said that because they were wearing helmets, it was proving difficult to build up descriptions of the offenders.

Since the incident one man has been arrested and bailed after a string of police house raids.