A man shot his estranged wife, mother-in-law and pet dog with a stolen automatic rifle in an execution-style killing, a court has heard.

Craig Savage, 35, is accused of killing Michelle Savage, 32, and Heather Whitbread, 53, in Bexhill Road, St Leonards, East Sussex, on 16 March.

Mrs Savage had been shot six times and her mother around seven times in a "planned execution", Lewes Crown Court was told.

Mr Savage denies two counts of murder.

He also denies possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Benjamin Aina, prosecuting, said: "He carried out the shooting because he had been rejected by his wife. They had separated about a month before the shooting and he was desperate for a reconciliation.

"One of the entry wounds on each woman was accompanied by a muzzle mark. This indicates that the firearm was pressed fairly close to each woman and discharged in an execution-type manner."

The court heard Mr Savage, of no fixed address, had bombarded his estranged wife with text messages, threatened her with revenge porn, and had poured paint on family cars.

About a week before the killings, on Mrs Savage's birthday, he slashed the tyres on her car, the jury was told.

Mr Aina said Savage's defence was likely to be that the shooting was a "complete accident" and the gun went off accidentally after he tripped during a struggle.

'Cop-assisted suicide'

Mr Savage claimed he had planned to kidnap her and have police shoot him in front of her in a "cop-assisted suicide", Mr Aina told the court.

The jury was told Mrs Savage's grandmother and her younger, pregnant sister were hiding in the house to escape the shooting and were not hurt.

The court was told after the shooting, Mr Savage pointed the rifle at a police officer, but the mechanism had become jammed and the gun did not fire.

Mr Savage has pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing a firearm.

The case continues.