Briton, 72, shot dead on his farm in France
Expat ‘blasted by tenant hiding in tree after land row’
A BrITISH farmer living in France has died after allegedly being shot by his tenant over a land row.
David Daniels, 72, died of his injuries in his car as his wife drove him 12 miles to the nearest doctor on Tuesday.
The tenant, named locally as Pascal, 48, and his elderly father, were both helping police with their inquiries last night as a murder investigation was opened.
Locals in Edon, in the Charente region of West France where Mr Daniels had a farm, said the men had been involved in a longflat running dispute over the upkeep of land. The Daniels own 130 hectares police. Mr Daniels, a classic car of farmland, with a forest, enthusiast, had lived in France for cows and crops. 25 years. He is said to have had an
Mr Daniels had been taking out active business career in the uK the rubbish when he was shot. before he moved.
The gunman was hiding in a tree Local mayor Patrice Petit said he opposite the farmhouse gates, was well-known and well-liked for waiting for Mr Daniels to bring out his ‘kindness, open mindedness the bin bag. There is CCTV outside and love of heritage’. the house, meaning the attack Mr Daniels had competed in the may have been caught on camera. Circuit des remparts vintage race
Pascal – described by locals as a in nearby Angouleme, and was keen hunter – lives with his father driving in Pau in the Pyrenees at in a farmhouse adjoining the Daniels’ the weekend before he was shot home. The men are said to on Tuesday afternoon. have handed themselves in to the The Daniels also have a £4million in London, where they spent half their time. Edon, home to just 270 people, is in an area of France popular with British expats.
Pascal is understood to farm some of Mr Daniels’ land.
He was described by villagers as a ‘calm and discreet’ man who rarely spoke to other people.
Police said the dispute related to the lease of the land with both having a ‘different vision of what was to become of the farm’.
Police were granted an extra 24 hours, until Thursday evening, to question the two men. More than 20 gendarmes are involved in the investigation. Jean-David Cavaille, state prosecutor, said the investigation had been opened as an ‘assassination, a murder with premeditation’ pending further inquiries, including the results of a post-mortem examination.
Mr Daniels was pronounced dead in Dignac, where his wife had driven him, reports said.
A uK Government spokesman said: ‘our staff are assisting the family of a British man following his death in France, and are in contact with the gendarmerie.’