Mr Chudleigh, who runs Kingfisher Builders, is listed as living at a sprawling …

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  • Businessman Michael Chudleigh, 62, was arrested at home in Rowde, Wilts
  • Mr
    Chudleigh, who runs Kingfisher Builders, is listed as living at a
    sprawling converted farm house with former business partner Francine
    Whale
  • James Ward, 59, is fighting for his life after being blasted in the head
  • It is believed he was shot at his desk – with stray bullets hitting windows
  • Mr Ward described by neighbours as a ‘lovely man’ who ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly’

By
Matt Blake


PUBLISHED:

19:11 GMT, 2 July 2012

|

UPDATED:

13:46 GMT, 3 July 2012

The property developer arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder a solicitor is a Ferrari-driving millionaire, it has emerged.

Businessman Michael Chudleigh, 62, was arrested on Monday in his home village of Rowde, Wiltshire, 35 minutes after a gunman walked into a solicitor’s office and shot a man in the face.

Solicitor James Ward, 59, is fighting for his life after being blasted in the head, as partner Nicola Morris – who also works at his firm – waits in a bedside vigil.

Suspect: Michael Chudleigh at his house in Wiltshire in 2007. The 62-year-old has been named locally as the man arrested by police in connection with the shooting of solicitor James Ward in Devizes yesterday

It is believed the victim was shot at his desk – with stray bullets smashing nearby windows.

Mr Chudleigh, who runs Kingfisher
Builders, is listed as living at a sprawling converted farm house with
former business partner Francine Whale.

But it is thought he was evicted and the property repossessed by the mortgage company in April.

It also emerged that Mr Chudleigh had previously admitted a passionate fling after getting involved in a bitter love triangle.

Shot: Solicitor James Ward who is fighting for his life after being shot in the head at his office in Wiltshire

He had a nine year affair with married
blonde Rachel Leigh and admitted to romping in woods behind her house
while her husband David was at work.

But it ended when she began having another relationship in 2004.

The builder, who showered his married
lover with over £100,000 worth of gifts including a new Ferrari,
stormed round to her address and confronted Rachel and her husband.

A window was smashed, police were called and he ended up in a tussle with an officer.

He was later found not guilty of
criminal damage, assaulting a police officer and a public order offence,
following a trial in 2007.

Speaking after the case, Mr Chudleigh said: ‘Rachel was the love of my life.

‘I left my former partner Carol for her. I left my house for her. I left everything for her – but she has left me in bits.

‘I even proposed to her in Winchester
Cathedral and gave her an £8,000 sapphire engagement ring, which was a
copy of Princess Diana’s engagement ring.

‘But all my dreams are shattered. I hate her guts now, she is a dreadful woman and she has left me in pieces.’

In an unrelated incident the property
developer and Francine
were tied up by two masked men in October 2009 in a shotgun robbery on
their home. The robbers made off with £50,000 worth of jewellery.

Investigation: Forensic officers outside Morris, Goddard and Ward in Devizes, Wiltshire where the man was shot yesterday

Speaking after the ordeal Mr Chudleigh said: ‘They burst into our kitchen pointing a shotgun at us and made us lie on the floor.

‘We were bound head and foot and they threatened to kill me if I did not tell them where the money was.

‘It was pretty horrendous. Mrs Whale has gone to pieces and she wants to barricade the door every night.’

The property developer and Francine were tied up by two masked men in October 2009 – when they stormed his home with a shotgun and stole £50,000 worth of jewellery

It is thought Mr Chudleigh was evicted and the property repossessed by the mortgage company in April

Today, Mr Ward was described by neighbours as a ‘lovely man’ who ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly’.

A neighbour at Mr Ward’s large red-brick farm house in Westbury, Wilts., who did not want to be named, said the solicitor would do anything for anybody.

He said: ‘He is just such a lovely man. The whole family is lovely. It is such a shock this has happened – he wouldn’t hurt a fly.

‘It’s the type of thing you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy – I can’t think of why anybody would have done this.

Wealthy: Mr Chudleigh, who runs Kingfisher Builders, is listed as living at the sprawling converted farm house with former business partner Francine Whale

‘We have all been praying for him at the local village church and we hope that he gets better – you have to have faith.’

Morris, Goddard and Ward was set up in 1988, specialising in matrimonial and family law, personal injury, general legal claims and residential conveyancing.

James Ward is listed as the principal solicitor at the practice. His partner Nicola Morris is listed as consultant solicitor.

The neighbour said Mr Ward had three children – all of whom had grown up and left school

A window on the first floor of the building, which houses another legal firm, was smashed in the shooting.

The
community had been left ‘understandably shocked by the events and we
appreciate their co-operation’, a police spokeswoman said.

A
number of roads around the Market Place in Devizes were cordoned off by
police, who said they would remain closed while its major crime
investigation team examined the scene

Simon Fisher, deputy town clerk at
Devizes Town Council, said: ‘Some of us heard a bang. It sounded like a
car backfiring or a car bumping into another car.

‘One of our staff saw a male being carried out on a stretcher.’

Mr Chudleigh had a nine year affair with married blonde Rachel Leigh, right, and admitted to romping in woods behind her house while her husband David was at work

A police spokesman said: ‘A male
walked into the offices of Morris, Goddard and Ward,
armed with a weapon, and shot a male.

‘The offender drove off in a car but was arrested at approximately 3.35pm without a struggle by armed officers in Rowde.

‘He is now in custody at Melksham Police Station. We recovered a weapon which we believe was used in the incident.

Crime scene: A police cordon surrounds the solicitor’s firm in Devizes, Wiltshire, where James Ward was shot in the head

Officers at work inside the building where the victim was shot at his desk with stray bullets hitting the windows

Great Western Ambulance Service was at the scene six minutes after the 999 call.

A
spokesman said: ‘We received a 999 call at 2.58pm reporting a man had
been injured in an incident involving a firearm in office premises in St
John’s Street, Devizes.

‘A
paramedic in a rapid-response vehicle was on scene at 3.04pm, backed up
by other resources, including ambulance crew, doctor, air ambulance and
duty officers to liaise with other emergency services.

‘The patient sustained serious, life-threatening injuries.’

The crime scene on St John’s street in the quiet market town of Devizes

The centre of the town was closed as
firearms officers and an ambulance raced to the scene. Locals described
hearing a loud bang – sounding like a car backfiring.

Colin
Garrett, manager of Edwin Giddings, in St John’s Street, said: ’It’s a
bit of a shock – it’s not the sort of thing you would expect here.
Details are sketchy but apparently someone walked in with a shotgun and
he discharged it.

‘I’m not
sure if he was the intended target or if they were trying to diffuse the
situation. Unfortunately solicitors deal with stressful situations
which they are trying to sort out. I believe the man was known to them
because he was arrested quickly.

‘The police are not allowing anyone
near the scene as they are gathering evidence. Apparently the ambulance
taking the injured person was given a police escort.’

Claire Perry, Conservative MP for Devizes, wrote on Twitter of her shock at the shooting.

‘All thoughts and prayers with the victim of the tragic shooting today in Devizes, and his family,’ she said last night.

‘What an awful, shocking thing to happen.’

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