TWO men have been jailed for life for the murder of businessman Guy Hedger, who was shot dead during a botched burglary at his home.

The 61-year-old was killed with a sawn-off shotgun after intruders broke into his house in Castlewood, St Ives, at about 3am on April 30 2017.

Jason Baccus, 42, of Verney Close, Bournemouth, and Kevin Downton, 40, of Winterborne Stickland, near Blandford, were found guilty on Monday following a 40-day trial at Winchester Crown Court.

Both defendants were also found guilty of aggravated burglary, possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and one count of burglary.

They have now been sentenced to life in prison, and will serve at least 34 years before they can be considered for release.

Downton and Baccus showed no emotion as the verdicts were announced, although gasps could be heard from the public gallery.

A third defendant, Scott Keeping, 44, also of Verney Close, was found not guilty of murder, aggravated burglary with a firearm, possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and burglary.

His wife, Helen Keeping, 40, was also cleared of two counts of assisting an offender.

Mr Cooper and husband Simon Hedger-Cooper had been in bed at around 2.45am on the morning of the murder when their dog started barking.

Mr Hedger went to investigate. He returned moments later with two masked men behind him.

One of the men was holding a shotgun, while the second had two bottles of champagne taken from Mr Hedger and Mr Hedger-Cooper's garage. The bottles were being held upside down “as weapons”, jurors heard.

The two victims were then told: “This is a burglary. This is a burglary.

“We’ll shoot you if you don’t do what we say.

“This is a robbery. Lie down and face the wall.”

The couple lay on their stomachs with their dog between them as one of the men ransacked an adjacent dressing room and the second stood over them with the gun.

Two safes were then discovered in the dressing room.

One of the men asked: “What’s the code for the ******* safes?”

Mr Hedger had got up to assist the burglars with the codes, but after giving two digits “froze and seemed to forget what came afterwards”, it was heard.

Mr Hedger-Cooper, who had risen to help, was moving towards the dressing room when he decided to press an alarm button on the bedroom wall, believing both he and his husband would be shot anyway.

The alarm began sounding and the lights flashing when Mr Hedger-Cooper heard a “big boom” and turned to see Mr Hedger had been gunned down.

Baccus and Downton left the property, but first took Mr Hedger-Cooper's mobile phone and the landline telephone in a "callous" bid to buy themselves time to flee.

Mr Hedger, the brand and marketing director of insurance firm Liverpool Victoria, went into cardiac arrest at the scene and was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5am.

He had suffered a number of pellet wounds, as well as one large injury to the left side of his chest.

Jewellery and other high-value items worth a total of £124,000 were stolen during the raid, much of which has not been recovered by police.

Items stolen included a Pandora bracelet, a 14-carat gold ring with rubies and emeralds, a Tiffany necklace, and several watches.

Also stolen were a Louis Vuitton wash bag worth about £650, which was given to Mr Hedger-Cooper by Mr Hedger for Christmas 2012, and a larger bag of the same brand worth £1,200.

Some of the stolen jewellery was found discarded in various locations around Bournemouth.

Parts of the gun found in the River Stour near Canford Parish Church.

Sentencing Baccus and Downton, judge Mr Justice Jay told them that "it was a series of elementary but stupid decisions that led to your arrest".

"You may have been out of your own depths, that was your decision, but the risk of taking a loaded gun into someone's bedroom was evident to you as to anyone," he said.

"The tragedy was on the cards."

He said the planning of the raid was "amateurish and incompetent", but that "doesn't diminish the culpability of what happened".

"Nothing I can say could possibly prevent Mr Hedger-Cooper continuing to be tormented by the thought that, if only he had not pressed the panic button, his partner might still be alive today," the judge said.

"This counter-factual cannot of course be answered.

"More importantly, the decision to press that button was not irrational and it was made in circumstances of extreme stress. Many of us would have done exactly the same.

"This was the collision of two worlds: one of those worlds has been permanently torn asunder."

Speaking to Downton, he added: "You have a cold, callous streak and show no remorse."

And to Baccus, he said: "I would not describe you as ruthless but I have seen no signs of remorse from you."

Mr Hedger-Cooper paid tribute to his "intelligent, creative, caring and gentle" husband in a moving victim impact statement which was read aloud to the court.

After sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Derbyshire, of Dorset Police’s MCIT, said: “Kevin Downton and Jason Baccus targeted Guy and Si and carried out this horrendous violent crime in the very place they should have been safe. 

"Nothing will ever bring Guy back but I hope the verdict of the jury will bring some level of comfort that his attackers are firmly behind bars.

"This lengthy and complex investigation involved a large team working tirelessly to secure all available evidence against these two men. This has included taking many statements, overseeing the thorough searches of a number of properties, vehicles, open areas and river beds. I would like to praise all staff involved."

John Montague from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "These men planned to break into Mr Hedger's home and steal high-value items. Kevin Downton was armed with a sawn-off shotgun.

"The defendants denied murdering Mr Hedger but the CPS was able to paint a clear picture for the jury demonstrating how the men planned the crime. The evidence put forward by prosecutors showed it could only have been them who were involved.

"It did not matter who pulled the trigger as both defendants were aware a gun had been taken to the address and was likely to be used if the burglary did not go as planned."