An 18-month-old boy remains in a critical condition after accidentally being shot in the head by his five-year-old sister.

Rashid Rullah was playing with his sibling Asna Almas in the family's garden in Washwood Heath, Birmingham, on Sunday evening while their father Bakht Zaman used the air rifle for target practice.

But shortly before 7pm, the 29-year-old handyman turned his back on the children at the family's terraced house in Bennetts Road to answer his mobile phone, the boy's grandfather Bakht Rammand said.

As Mr Zaman did so, he left the gun loaded in preparation for his next shot. The girl then picked up the gun and accidentally shot the toddler in the back of the head.

Last night, surgeons were still unable to operate on the boy at Birmingham's Children's Hospital, where he remains unconscious in a critical condition.

Mr Rammand, 48, said: "Everybody's in shock. There are no words to describe it really. The whole road loves them. The children usually come down here about 10.30am and spend all day, every day with us. At 4pm they usually go home. When they went home yesterday they were playing with their dad in the garden."

He added: "He was target practising with the gun and then somebody rang his mobile. The gun was ready to fire and he answered the phone.

"Rashid's sister is really active and she got hold of the gun and pointed it at her brother. He was on the high ground and she was on the low ground. It hit him right in the middle of the back of his head."

Mr Rammand said the boy's mother Fazilat Zaman, 25, had been at his grandson's bedside.

West Midlands Police said the shooting appears to be a "tragic accident".

Det Insp Simon Vowles said: "While we are still trying to establish precisely what happened, this does appear to be a tragic accident involving young children."

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