Noise dispute man 'shot himself'

Trevor Fallon worked as a caretaker for the Gwent Theatre Company

A theatre caretaker who had made numerous complaints about 'noisy neighbours' shot two brothers before killing himself, an inquest has heard.

Trevor Fallon, 55, wounded next-door neighbours Anthony Price, 20, and Gareth Harris, 17, before shooting himself at Govilon, Monmouthshire.

The inquest at Newport heard Mr Fallon left notes saying anti-social behaviour had made his life "unbearable".

Coroner David Bowen said nothing could justify such cold-blooded maiming.

Mr Fallon, who was originally from Bolton, began complaining to Monmouthshire County Council about noise two months after he moved into his house in 2000, the inquest heard.

Personally I cannot imagine, whatever the behaviour was, it could justify such cold-blooded maiming Coroner David Bowen

Detective Constable Mark Chaplin told the court Mr Fallon had turned down noise monitoring equipment from the council, but complaints had continued nearly up until the time of his death.

Anthony Price told the inquest that he and his brother Gareth had been "young and playful" when Mr Fallon moved in.

Mr Price said his brother Gareth had learning difficulties.

"We played in the garden and shouted and screamed at times, but on no occasion did we go out of our way to annoy Trevor or any other neighbour," he said.

On the day of the shooting Mr Price described how he had taken his brother out on his motorbike, and had pulled into the driveway of their home when he saw Mr Fallon approaching.

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

"I heard a loud, deafening bang. I thought it was an explosion, perhaps the petrol tank. Then Gareth fell to the floor. He was holding the rear of his legs."

Mr Price said Mr Fallon had then started walking towards him, pointing the gun at him.

"I said 'Trevor don't shoot, don't shoot', but he raised his arms and I thought I was going to die.

"I heard another loud bang and I just fell to the floor," he said.

Neighbours described how Mr Fallon calmly walked away from the scene. He was found dead in a field after turning the sawn-off shotgun on himself.

Mr Fallon's brother Terry told the inquest his brother had only mentioned problems with neighbours once, but a few weeks before his death his Land Rover had been stolen and he had seemed depressed.

Recording his verdict that Mr Fallon killed himself, coroner David Bowen said notes left by Mr Fallon made it clear he had been planning his actions for years.

"He said it made his life unbearable. Whether he was justified in reaching that conclusion or not, it is not for me to decide," he said.

"Personally I cannot imagine, whatever the behaviour was, it could justify such cold-blooded maiming," he said.

In a statement, Monmouthshire Council said it was confident Mr Fallon's complaints had been dealt with adequately and promptly, and he had made no contact with the council in seven months before his death.

Det Insp Steve Corcoran of Gwent Police said: "Clearly there were three victims in this case...I am satisfied the council did all they could to assist Mr Fallon."

However, Mr Fallon's brother Terry told reporters although his brother had gone over the top, he thought the authorities should have got to the root of the problems.

"It should never have happened," he added.