Man cleared in gun death

A gun-club member who shot dead a car thief was yesterday cleared of manslaughter.

Gamekeeper Martin Wise, 35, shot 20-year-old Matthew Hodge with a .25 auto baby Browning pistol in August last year. He caught the thief trying to steal a Ford Escort from outside his home in Hildenborough, Kent. Mr Wise told the Crown Court in Maidstone that the gun had gone off accidentally.