Shotgun probe in village shooting

Trevor Fallon worked as a caretaker for the Gwent Theatre Company

Police investigating the shooting of two brothers in a Monmouthshire village are trying to find how their neighbour was able to acquire a sawn-off shotgun.

Brothers Gareth Harris, 17, and Anthony Price, 20, were found wounded in Govilon, near Abergavenny, on Sunday.

Neighbour Trevor Fallon, 55, was found dead in a field with a shotgun beside him. He did not have a gun licence.

Police are treating the shootings as attempted murder but are not looking for anyone else.

Local people said there had been a dispute between the neighbours.

A police cordon remains around the neighbours' properties

The body of Mr Fallon, who was said to be originally from the Preston area of Lancashire, was discovered by armed officers. Police later said the weapon was a sawn-off shotgun.

An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned on Tuesday.

Meanwhile forensic scientists have been inside his home at Usk View in Govilon, as detectives carried out house-to-house inquiries.

The two brothers were taken to Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny, where their condition was not thought to be life-threatening, although Anthony Price was said to be more seriously injured.

Their sister, Rachel Price, visited the two in hospital on Monday.

She said: "They're not seriously ill. Gareth's got gunshot wounds to both of his legs and Anthony's got gunshot wounds to his one.

"Anthony had one operation and he's going back down again tomorrow for another operation."

Local people recalled that the first sign that anything was wrong during what was otherwise a peaceful Sunday afternoon, was a series of "tremendous bangs".

'He shot me'

They rushed out to find the two brothers had been shot. One of the first on the scene was villager John Preece.

He said: "Me and a couple of the neighbours ran around. He (one of the brothers) was laying on the floor. He was screaming, saying 'he shot me, he shot me'.

"We tried to calm him down and the ambulance was called. They took a long time as, apparently, they weren't allowed to come to the scene until armed police came.

Brothers Gareth Harris (L) and Anthony Price were found wounded

"I was attending to the boy lying on the lawn and there was screaming from the house. I realised then that another one had been shot.

"He was in the kitchen and he was in quite a bad way. The kitchen was covered in blood, it was pretty gruesome."

We're very saddened by what has happened. He was a lovely, lovely man and a very valued member of staff Gwent Theatre Company

Monmouthshire councillor Verona Nelmes described the shooting as an "absolute tragedy".

"I'm really concerned about this because it shows the dangers of guns in the house," she said.

"It also shows that if there is a history of neighbour disputes, then we need to look at what has happened in the past, and I will be asking the local authority if we have had any evidence of complaints coming in. I think the police need to look as well."

Operations

Mr Fallon had worked as a caretaker for the Gwent Theatre Company, based in Abergavenny, for six years.

Theatre administrative director, Julia Davies, said: "We're very saddened by what has happened. He was a lovely, lovely man and a very valued member of staff."

Gwent Police would like to speak to anyone who can help inquiries. Call 01633 838111 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111