A GUN enthusiast who shot dead a father-of-two over a feud between their two sons has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Matthew Moseley, who tried to blame his own son Thomas for the killing of road worker Lee Holt, has been told he will serve a minimum of 26 years before he is eligible for parole.

In an emotional victim personal statement, Mr Holt’s mother Marilyn, said: "I had Lee when I was 16 years of age. Life was tough. But my parents, Lee’s grandparents, and I worked hard to try and make for the most for my child, as all parents do.

"All the hard work and sacrifices made in order to put your children first, and now, when he should be in the prime of his life, he has been taken away. His death has not only lost me my son, but made all those years of struggle seem like such a waste.

"Lee was supposed to be alive to see his beautiful daughters, Alecia and Keira, grow up. He was supposed to see his nieces become adults.

"He was supposed to enjoy his life and appreciate it. That’s what I wanted for him. That’s what I worked for. Instead this opportunity was stolen from him, because of what? Because he knocked on somebody’s door too hard when he was trying to help out his partner's son. It just seems so unfair."

She continued: "Like all parents, I’ve always had pictures up of my children. But I don’t have any up of Lee at the moment. I still can’t face it because of how upset I feel when I see him.

"I feel guilty because of that. Not only is he dead, but I can’t even face having a picture of my own son on the wall because of how it affects me.

"I hope that over time those emotions will soften and I’ll be able to have his face on view again without me filling up with tears. I’m not ready yet.

"I have to watch my grandchildren get upset when music comes on the radio Lee liked.

"What do you say to your granddaughter when she says on her dad’s birthday, ‘nana, I shouldn’t be talking to my dad in a box’.'

"They shouldn’t be experiencing family events without their father at such young age. I shouldn’t be sitting down to Christmas dinner without my son. But I had to do it last Christmas and I’ll have to do it for every Christmas to come.

"I remember when the police first came to my house to tell me Lee had been killed. I was told a 14-year-old boy, had been arrested for it. Clearly I was in shock, I can’t remember my exact thoughts, but I did think ‘why did a child have a gun?’.

"Kids aren’t supposed to have guns. Is he part of a gang? Why would he shoot Lee?

"At least I could be relieved that the police had the right person? But over the following days, I was told the boys Dad had been arrested as well. And that it was his gun.

"It was all getting confusing now and it started to make me question who had killed Lee? Then I found out that the father had not just one gun, but 26.

"Why would anybody need that many guns in a residential estate in Accrington?

"But I thought that the truth would come out – it was between the father and son – surely they’d both just tell the truth?

"Instead I feel the last few months have just been each of them blaming each other. And I remember thinking ‘Please, one of you killed my son, at least be honest as to who did it. Lee deserves at least that.'

"As I sit here today, providing this statement, nobody has admitted to pulling the trigger on the shot that killed him. Nobody has apologised and said they are sorry and made a mistake.

"It makes me wonder did they think Lee deserved to die at the time? Do they still think he did?"

During the trial at Preston Crown Court, the jury was told how Mr Holt went to Barnard Close with his partner, Kate Phelan, 34, and her 15-year-son, Wesley Metcalfe, on October 25 to confront Thomas over an ongoing dispute between the schoolboys.

Witnesses said Ms Phelan banged on the front windows and 32-year-old Mr Holt kicked the front door as they shouted for the Moseleys to come out.

Thomas Moseley said he then saw his father - a keen clay pigeon shooter who has 24 licensed guns kept in his home - bend down on one knee and take out one of his licensed guns from a cabinet next to the porch and load it with three cartridges.

His father told him to ring the police, he said, and 11 seconds into the 999 call Mr Holt was shot once in the chest and died in hospital later the same evening.

From that point onwards the defendant sought to manipulate his son into falsely taking the blame for the shooting.

In a covert recording of a prison van conversation, Matthew Moseley can be heard telling his son: “You are a minor. You can’t go to any jail.

“Self defence for you and you didn’t know what you were doing. Me, different ball game. And that is the way we have got to go with this.”

Giving evidence, Matthew Moseley denied he had asked his son to say anything on his his behalf.

He said the Beretta shotgun had been left out for cleaning and he saw his son with three cartridges in his hand amid the commotion outside.

He then claimed he made his intervention at the front door when Thomas aimed the weapon at Mr Holt.

But the jury of eight women and four men rejected his account and returned the guilty verdict.

Richard Littler QC, defending, said his client had reacted in a "bizarre fashion" in the heat of the moment. The barrister also said that Moseley's family had forgiven him for trying to set up Thomas and that they were keen to resume a relationship with him once he is released from custody.

Mr Littler said: "The trouble came to his family home in hours of darkness. It is clear the trouble amounted to the kicking, banging and threats at the front of his property which housed his three children and it is in that context that this defendant reacted in a time where he no doubt foresaw a real threat to his property."

Sentencing Moseley to life imprisonment, Mr Justice Ryan said he accepted the defendant had not intended to kill his victim and there was no pre-meditation.

But he said that someone with the defendant’s ‘vast experience in handling and use of firearms should have been expected to have acted maturely and responsibly, and recognised that the offensive use of a firearm was a wholly inappropriate response to the situation he found himself in’.

Mr Justice Ryan said: “There is no doubt that it was an ugly scene outside 23 Barnard Close. Kate Phelan was banging on the front windows, and Lee was kicking the front door.

“Abuse was being shouted at the occupants. You told your son to phone the police. he did so and that 999 call was played to the jury.

“Any responsible adult, and father of your age and maturity with his family in the house would have locked the front door and awaited the arrival of the police. That was, after all, all the needed to be done to protect your family.

“However, as the jury has found, that is not what you did. On the contrary you went into the hall, and either unlocked one of your four gun cabinets containing 23 guns (all lawfully held) and took out a left-handed semi automatic Beretta shotgun, or picked up that Beretta shotgun which you say had been left propped up in the hallway pending cleaning. Either way that shotgun was unloaded at the time.

“You made a decision, which can only have been a conscious decision, to load that shotgun, and load it you did with three shotgun cartridges.

“Such cartridges would have come from the extension behind the kitchen or under the stairs by the kitchen. Either way that required you to go and get those cartridges and then load the gun.

“In the light of what followed, your loading of the gun can only have been on the basis that you intended to use that shotgun as an offensive weapon. There can have been no other reason for you to insert three shotgun cartridges into that gun.

“That, in itself, is astonishing enough from someone with 41 years knowledge and experience of the use of shotguns and their potentially devastating effect, but having loaded that shotgun you proceeded to open the front door, took aim at the person in front of you, and who was, on the forensic evidence, only one to three metres away from the barrel if your gun, and deliberately shot that person in the chest. That person was Lee Holt.”

Speaking after the hearing, Det Chf Insp Jill Johnston said: “I’m pleased with the verdict reached by the jury and grateful for all the consideration they have given to the evidence.

“Matthew Moseley has shown no remorse. He has accepted no responsibility for his part in this tragic event.

“Not only was he happy for his teenage son to take responsibility but even put a considerable amount of pressure on him to do so.

“It beggars belief. What kind of parent could ever carry out such an act?

“His behaviour has been nothing less than wicked.

“It has been a very difficult and challenging investigation for those reasons and I just hope now that Lee Holt’s family can take some comfort in seeing justice being served.

“The bravery of Lee’s family and all the witnesses in this case has been commendable.

“I feel very saddened about the impact that this will have had on Thomas and how he will ever come to terms with what his father has done. I hope that he can continue in life to develop and grow.

“It’s now clear he is a boy of strong morals and beliefs and has been a witness of truth throughout the trial. He has had to give evidence in the most difficult of circumstances. The impact on all of them has been life-changing.”

DCI Johnston added: “Moseley was a licensed firearm holder and should have known how dangerous these kinds of weapons are. Instead, in the heat of an altercation he used one of them to take a man’s life needlessly, all over a fall-out between two schoolboys.

“The impact of what all of the people witnessed on that night cannot be underestimated with each and every one of their lives having been hugely affected.”