‘Words won’t express how much we miss Peter’

A GRIEVING father has paid a glowing tribute to his “quiet and well-mannered” son who was shot in a pub car park.

Peter Colwell died instantly when a shotgun fired as he sat in the back of a 4x4 in a pub car park near Pwllheli in February 2017.

Two men have now been jailed over the shooting following a trial at Caernarfon Crown Court, where Mr Colwell’s father Robert Jones sat through the entire hearing.

During the trial, Mr Jones was accompanied at times by Mr Colwell’s mother Fiona Brett and other family members and friends, while the teenager’s grandfather Austin made the journey from his home in Spain to attend the trial.

Mr Jones said the trial was an “emotional and tiring experience” and he could not bear to be in court while the jury considered the evidence and delivered their verdicts.

“I’m shattered by the whole trial,” said Mr Jones, who suffered sleepless nights looking for an answer as to why his son put up with Wilson’s weapons handling, which was described by the judge as “appallingly lax”. “It has been suggested that, because Peter was the new boy, he would have been eager to fit in,” he said.

“Sadly, Ben Wilson’s careless actions with his gun have turned my Peter’s life to ashes.

“Words will never express how we miss him.”

Mr Jones said his son loved field sports and was a keen shot, a good sportsman and a working dog handler.

He had been overjoyed to be taken on as an underkeeper at the Bodfuan shoot, had started work just a few days before his death, and would have celebrated his 19th birthday just days after the incident.

Mr Jones said: “He loved shooting and fishing.

“He was a member of Three Herrings Sea Fishing Club at Pwllheli and also caught Sewin, a type of sea trout, on the fly.

“He has been shooting since he was four years old. We used to go shooting pigeons when we lived in Shropshire. Peter used to dig up bait on Trefor beach to make a bit of pocket money and he used to help me around the house. He was a really good lad.”

Mr Colwell was “drilled in gun handling and safety” from a very early age, said his father.

He said: “I remember with great fondness how he loved finding game with his Labrador Yena.

“He grew up into a quiet and well-mannered young man who had firsthand experience of keepering.”

Mr Colwell, who has three sisters, was born in Worcester but moved to the Llŷn peninsula, where he learned Welsh, attended Ysgol Botwnnog, and went on to gain his qualifications at Glynllifon Agricultural College near Caernarfon.

He was fluent in Welsh and was interviewed on Radio Cymru just days before his death.

Mr Jones thanked the emergency services for their efforts on the night his son died.

“We are very grateful to North Wales Police and Ambulance Service first responders for their courage and bravery in coming to Peter’s aid in the face of a loaded gun,” said Mr Jones.

“Further, we would like to commend North Wales Police for their professional and sensitive handling of Peter’s case.”