A gypsy accused of shooting a fellow traveller in

A gypsy accused of shooting a fellow traveller in the head at point-blank range claimed his victim was killed by a mystery ‘geezer’, the Old Bailey heard.

Leonard Chambers jnr, 27, told police he noticed the figure pointing a gun at him while he was hitting victim David Stacey with a metal bar.

He lashed out at the man and the gun fired accidentally at Mr Stacey, 53, who died in hospital two days later, the court was told.

The court has heard how Chambers and his father Leonard Chambers Snr, 50, had become involved in a family dispute with the roofer.

Leonard Chambers jnr explained in police interviews how he drove his father to the Epsom Downs to meet Stacey.

‘I pulled up beside him and my dad got out.

As he did I saw my father go down and heard a bang.

I thought he had been shot and drove the car into Stacey’s.

‘Stacey was beating my dad with something.

I grabbed a lump of iron out of the motor and hit Dave on the arm to get him off.

‘He turned on me and as he did I saw another geezer.

He had a gun pointed at me.

‘I hit him as hard as I could.

The gun went up in the air and went off.

Stacey went down.

I got dad and we drove off.

‘

Ten eye-witnesses have told how Mr Stacey had a look of terror on his face and his hands were thrown up into the air.

The court has heard Mr Stacey supplemented his income by buying and selling horses at fairs across England.

He was a regular at auctions in Appleby, Cumberland, Ayr in Scotland, and Manchester and was a well known face at Epsom racecourse.

His son, David Stacey Jnr, had recently been imprisoned and he was angry at the lack of support the Chambers had given to his son’s wife – who was a related to the family.

In a furious row at the Kingfisher pub in Ewell, Chambers Junior said Stacey accused him and his father of being ‘grasses who got my boy nine years’ the jury heard.

Mr Stacey was shot dead when he went to a meeting to sort out the feuding family’s differences, the court has heard.

Leonard Chambers snr and Leonard Chambers jnr, who lived at various addresses in southwest London, both deny murder, conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of a loaded firearm in a public place on February 20 this year.

The trial continues.

ends