ian clarkeA 52-year-old man killed himself after shooting a 40-year-old woman twice in the head in a Norfolk village.ian clarke

A 52-year-old grandfather today killed himself after shooting a 40-year-old girlfriend twice in the head in a Norfolk village.

Detectives are trying to piece together why the man - named by neighbours as Mark Osler - shot the woman - named locally as Rachel Puttock - in Feltwell, near Brandon, and then took his own life in a nearby field.

It is believed Ms Puttock was walking from the local doctors' surgery with her one-month old grandson Owen when Osler shot her twice in Oak Street.

Little Owen is thought to have fallen and banged his head on the ground.

Ms Puttock and baby Owen were taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

Her head injuries were not thought to be life threatening and Owen had treatment for a minor head injury.

Neighbours said Osler was an unemployed divorcee known as 'Ossie' who had two teenage sons and a son in his 20s.

One said he was 'an unpredictable man' who 'could never, ever have had a licence to own a gun.'

The East of England Ambulance Service was called to an address in Oak Street at just before 11.15am and about an hour later they found Osler in a nearby field and he had shot himself.

Desperate attempts were made to revive him but he was declared dead at about 12.30pm.

Parts of Feltwell remain sealed off tonight as investigations continue and the village is in shock.

Neighbours had reported hearing shots and screams and have been giving accounts of what they knew to detectives.

Both incidents in total required four land ambulances, three rapid response vehicles and two officers. The air ambulance also attended both calls but was not required to transport to hospital.

An ambulance service spokeswoman said: 'This was a challenging and traumatic situation but our call handlers and crews responded calmly and professionally and did everything possible for all the patients involved. Our praise goes out to them.'

Police confirmed that officers were called to an address at Oak Street, Feltwell, at 11.16am today after concerns were raised for the safety of a woman.

Upon arrival at the scene, a woman was found with a head injury and was taken to hospital. The body of a male, believed to be the suspect, was located nearby a short time later.

His death is not being treated as suspicious and officers are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.

A Norfolk Constabulary spokeswoman said: 'It's believed that the people involved in this incident were known to each other and there is no threat to the wider community.'

For full story see the EDP tomorrow.