Solicitor shooting: man charged

A man appeared in court today charged with attempting to kill a Wiltshire solicitor.

Michael Chudley, 62, from Rowde, Wiltshire, was also charged with threats to kill, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and carrying a firearm with criminal intent. At Salisbury Magistrates Court this morning he was remanded in custody until 18 July.

James Ward, principal solicitor at Morris Goddard and Ward, was seriously injured after being shot in the head at his firm’s office in Devizes on Monday afternoon. The 58-year-old was airlifted to a hospital in Bristol with life-threatening injuries and remains in a serious condition.

Morris Goddard and Ward was set up in 1988 and has four solicitors specialising in family law, personal injury, general legal claims and residential conveyancing.