An ex-soldier has been found guilty of murdering his ex-wife and mother-in-law in an execution-style shooting at almost point-blank range.

Craig Savage denied setting out to kill his ex-wife Michelle and her mother Heather Whitbread at their home in St Leonards, East Sussex, on March 16.

But a jury of 10 women and two men convicted him of two counts of murder after deliberating for less than three hours.

St Leonards shooting
The gun Craig Savage used during the shooting (Sussex Police/PA)

Dressed in a blue suit and open-neck white shirt, 35-year-old Savage, now a lorry driver, showed no emotion when the verdicts were read out.

Police found the bodies of 32-year-old Mrs Savage, her dog Zeus and Mrs Whitbread, 53, after he stole a semi-automatic rifle from a nearby firing range.

Mrs Savage had been shot about six times and her mother around seven times.

Her pregnant sister Raven Whitbread, 24, and 80-year-old grandmother Patricia Groves hid and escaped unharmed.

Savage was acquitted of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life after being accused of trying to fire at armed police officers who confronted him.

He admitted robbery at the beginning of the trial.

Savage will be sentenced by Mrs Justice McGowan on Monday afternoon.