Shotgun victim recalls lover's dying words

Despite being blasted, Craig Freear escaped by climbing out of an upstairs bathroom window, then hiding underneath a car after a masked man burst into his home with a double-barrelled shotgun.

His boyfriend, Neville Corby, 42, was blasted in the neck and died at their house in Bradford, last March.

Ernest Wright, also known as Les, aged 68, of Howarth Crescent, Bradford, denies murder.

A woman in the public gallery sobbed and was comforted by a friend as Newcastle Crown Court was shown gruesome photographs of the murder scene, including blood-splattered walls in the couple's semi-detached home.

Mr Freear, 31, told the hearing he was stepping outside the front door heading for work when he was confronted by a man in a balaclava with a barrelled shotgun.

He moved back into the house and was followed in by the gunman - whom he said he recognised as the defendant despite the mask.

Mr Corby, who was still in bed, heard the commotion and headed down to the foot of the stairs, where Mr Freear was frozen in fear.

A shot was fired into the ceiling and the couple then ran upstairs.

Mr Freear headed for the bathroom, where he hid behind the door.

As he listened with his head pressed to a glass panel in the door, he heard another shot.

"I heard Neville say as clear as anything 'Where are you Craig, I'm dying'.

"After that the bathroom door blew in and I got out (through the bathroom window]."

Mr Freear leapt to safety and it was only afterwards he realised he had been badly hurt himself and required surgery to his right lung.

He managed to identify the victim to a neighbour in Ashburn Road, telling the jury he recognised his size, mannerisms and his wrinkly eyes.

Mr Freear said: "It was really hard to breathe.

"I thought I was going to die at the time. I had to make sure I got out who did it.

"I said 'It's Les who's done it, it's Les'."

Mr Freear told the court he used to look after his disabled mother's finances but Wright, who lived upstairs from her, tried to turn her against him.

That led to a series of disputes in the days before the shootings, including a car chase and minor collision in Shipley.

The court has been told Wright fled after the shooting and was arrested 30 days later.

The trial continues.