Italian tourist claims he shot friend by accident

Franco Moroni denies the charges

An Italian tourist claims his friend stood up in front of him the moment he pulled his shotgun trigger while shooting pigeons.

Franco Moroni, 61, is charged with the culpable homicide of Marco Cavola on a Perthshire estate in March 2019.

Mr Cavola, 42, died as a result of his injuries.

Mr Moroni, who lives in Italy and is on bail, has admitted firing the shot but denies culpable homicide at the High Court in Dundee.

He said his lifelong friend had urged him him to "shoot, shoot, shoot" as pigeons flew overhead.

But he claims Mr Cavola then stood up without warning in front of him.

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The pair formed part of a three-man shooting group at Rossie Estate, Inchture.

Mr Moroni told police: "[Marco] suddenly stood up quickly, all of a sudden, and my shot struck him in the back of the head.

"I started screaming for [third member of the shooting party] Onorio [Galoni] over and over again. I knew immediately it was very serious.

"Marco fell on the ground. He fell on his back. He was never conscious after the shot. Onorio and I were unable to help him in any way."

Marco Cavola died from his injuries in March 2019

Sgt Ian Borthwick read the statement out and said Mr Moroni was "extremely distraught, distressed, in a state, shouting and wailing" as he was being interviewed.

The court has heard that both men were in the same hide at the same time when the incident happened.

Wildlife and shooting expert witness Stewart Scull told the jury that having two guns shooting from the same hide was not an unknown practice but it could be "extremely dangerous."

He said the Wood Pigeon Shooting Code of Practice clearly recommends limiting guns to one per hide as the safest way to conduct pigeon shooting.

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Quoting the code, Mr Scull said: "It can be dangerous for two people to be shooting from a hide at the same time.

"If two people are sharing a hide, one gun should always be kept in a slip, unloaded. To ensure safety, the person not shooting should be behind the person shooting."

Another witness, Colin Shedden, Scottish director of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, told the jury: "Our code of practice clearly states it can be dangerous for two people to be shooting from a hide at the same time."

The court has already heard how Mr Cavola was fatally wounded by a shotgun blast minutes after the party were left unsupervised in the field.

Not legally licensed

Shooting agent Peter Bruce said he had left briefly to buy diesel and returned to discover Mr Cavola had been shot dead.

Mr Bruce said Mr Moroni was not legally licensed to shoot at the time of the incident because the agent had temporarily left the scene of the shoot.

He said Mr Moroni was a late addition to the three-man shooting party and had been covered by Mr Bruce's license while he was present in the field.

The trial, before Lord Clark, continues.