
A father hidden under a car shot his wife and daughter dead yesterday after he ambushed them outside a leisure centre.

Lance Hart, 57, blasted his wife Claire, 50, and their 19-year-old daughter Charlotte with a shotgun before turning the weapon on himself.

The killing happened just days after Mrs Hart told her husband their 26-year marriage was over and she was leaving him.

Hart knew his wife was going swimming yesterday morning with their only daughter, and lay in wait for them in the leisure centre’s car park in Spalding, Lincolnshire.

A witness described seeing a man hiding under a car just minutes before the horror unfolded outside the Castle sports centre in the small market town.

Hart appeared to have planned the attack after arranging to meet his estranged wife to discuss their separation.

A source said: ‘Claire had left him. I don’t know what the issues were in their marriage, but I can’t understand why he had to kill his daughter as well.’

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Victims: The Spalding shooting victims are understood to be mother and daughter and Claire Hart, 50, and Charlotte Hart, 19, pictured together, who were shot dead by father and husband Lance Hart, 57

Gunman: Lance Hart (pictured) is the man said to be responsible for killing wife Claire and daughter Charlotte in this morning's shootings. He then turned the gun on himself

Crime scene: Tents remain in the leisure centre car park where Claire and Charlotte were gunned down after being ambushed by Lance Hart

On guard: Police remain at their family home in Moulton - three miles from the murder scene - as officers investigate how Hart got the shotgun used in the killings

Messages: Flowers have piled up outside the family's five-bed house with messages of love for the women who died yesterday

Loved: This note talked of Claire and Charlotte being missed and the pair had given pleasure to everyone who knew them

A relative of Hart confirmed his wife had recently ended their marriage, adding: ‘Lance would have been upset but that cannot explain or justify what he has done.’

Police put local schools on lockdown and told residents to stay inside and lock their doors after the shootings, amid fears a gunman could be on the rampage.

But Hart was dead when armed officers arrived at the scene, and Mrs Hart and her daughter had horrific injuries.

Rescuers attempted to resuscitate them but neither could be saved. It is understood that Hart did not own a shotgun or hold a licence for one, and the police investigation will look at how he got access to it.

Charlotte’s blue Toyota Aygo car was parked at the sports centre and has been sealed off by police.

Detectives swooped on the £280,000 five-bedroom detached home in the nearby village of Moulton where the family had lived for almost a decade. The house was put up for sale recently. Neighbours said Hart had claimed he and his wife wanted to ‘downsize’, saying: ‘He was full of the joys of spring, his kids had left home and they were going to downsize and buy somewhere in the village.’

A neighbour, known only as Peter, described Lance Hart, who is understood to have worked at a nearby builders' merchants, as 'the nicest guy you could ever meet' who 'would do anything for anyone'.

Another neighbour described the Harts, who are believed to have got married in 1990, as the 'loveliest couple ever'.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: 'They were an absolutely lovely family. They were the loveliest couple ever. We don't know them well but wave to them when we see them.

'I can't imagine why they have raided that house. They had three kids, two boys and a girl.'

'The house is up for sale but I can't imagine they would have left without saying goodbye.'

Charlotte was studying at the University of Northampton but was home for the summer holidays.

Jess Wright was among course-mates who paid tribute to her. She said: 'Rest in peace Charlotte Georgia Hart. I'm sure I speak on behalf of the whole Midwifery cohort, you were so lovely and will be missed by all.

'Such a cruel world.'

Kerrie Mckim added: 'Lovely girl who wouldn't harm a fly. Such a tragedy, RIP.'

Shot: Claire Hart, 50, and Charlotte Hart, 19, at around 9am this morning in the car park of The Castle Leisure Centre in Spalding, Lincolnshire

Tragedy: Miss Hart is believed to be a university student who had left home around a year ago. Pictured, right, with her beloved pet dog

Cherished: Claire and Lance Hart had daughter Charlotte (pictured), and sons Ryan, 25, and Luke, 26 - both of whom are not believed to have been involved in yesterday's shootings

Overhead: Drone pictures show the scene of the killings at Castle Sports Complex swimming pool in Spalding - with the white forensics tent seen in the middle

Crime scene: The scene at the swimming pool in Spalding where three people including a suspected gunman died in a shooting

Loving: It is understood Charlotte was studying at the University of Northampton but was home for the summer holidays

Victim: Locals described the deaths of Charlotte (pictured) and her parents as 'devastating', with one woman claiming the deaths had sent a 'cold shiver' down her spine

Beyond help: Witnesses say they performed CPR on Miss Hart and her mother at the scene but neither could be saved

Sporty: Charlotte Hart is thought to have been very outdoorsy, with photographs on social media showing her with many horses and dogs, swimming and playing lacrosse

Well travelled: The teenage student was a keen traveller, having visited many cities and coastal resorts around the world

Location: The incident happened in Spalding, Lincolnshire, which has a population of 28,000 and sits close to the county's borders with Norfolk and Cambridgeshire

Paula Leverton, who owns Four Winds Equestrian Centre, in Spalding, where Charlotte used to regularly ride horses, said she was shocked and saddened by the news.

She said: 'Charlotte used to ride here quite often before she went to university, I am just astounded because they were such a nice family.

'They are not the sort of people who you would expect this to happen to.

'I never met the father but I knew Charlotte and her mum as she used to come and drop her off because she couldn't drive at that point.

'We are just all shocked. Charlotte was lovely, she was quite quiet but if anything, she was nice.'

A former neighbour of Lance Hart's parents, Raymond and Daphne Hart, said: 'He was a friendly guy, I wouldn't have a bad word to say about him, but I knew him decades ago.'

The man who wished to remain anonymous added: 'We were about the same age, his children went to the same school as mine here in Wisbech St Marys.

'I remember their children (Lance and Claire's) were very gifted and talented. They were very clever, I would say above average at things they did.'

Speaking of Lance, the man said: 'He was very inoffensive, kept himself to himself like most people around here.'

One witness, a builder, has told how he found the gunman dead but tried to save his two victims.

He told the Telegraph: 'At about nine o'clock three shots went off while I was working on the building site. I ran across the car park, jumped over the fence and went to help.

'When I arrived there was only me and another lad from the swimming pool who was trying to help. There were three people injured. It looked like the man had done the other two and done away with himself.

'There was a man, an older woman, and a younger woman. They looked like a family. The man was already dead when I got there. The older woman was very badly injured and I tried CPR on her while the guy from the swimming baths tried on the younger woman who didn't look as bad'.

The couple’s separation was not widely known and neighbours said they seemed happy, describing them as ‘an absolutely lovely family’.

Shocking: The mother and daughter were shot dead in a swimming pool car park in Spalding yesterday (pictured) before the gunman turned the weapon on himself

Sealed off: A large portion of the town centre has been cordoned off around where the three bodies were found this morning, marked here by a white tent

Closed off: Schools and local businesses were urged to lock their doors as the shooting occurred this morning

Major crime: The suspected murder suicide has shocked the small Lincolnshire community and police are reassuring people they are not looking for anyone else

Investigation: Forensics photograph the crime scene yesterday as a lifeguard and a swimming coach from the leisure centre where the trio died cling to eachother after speaking to police

Support: Staff hugged each other and were in tears yesterday as they spoke to police about the shootings

Emergency services were called to The Castle Leisure Centre at around 9am after swimmers and staff heard gunshots and three bodies were found in the car park

As well as their daughter, a student, the Harts had two grown-up sons – Luke, 26, and Ryan, 25. A source described Hart, a delivery driver for a local builder’s merchant, as ‘arrogant’ but said his wife was ‘the salt of the earth’.

Mrs Hart, who worked on the butcher’s counter at a local Morrisons supermarket, was described as devoted to her children. Charlotte, who was studying to be a midwife at the University of Northampton, had posted photographs of herself with her mother on social media. Underneath one, she wrote: ‘My favourite woman in this whole world celebrates her birthday today! She’s not only my mum she’s my best friend and I hope she has a lovely day.’

The teenager had returned from a ten-day holiday in Tenerife just two days earlier. She posted messages describing her excitement about the trip with her boyfriend Ben Griffiths, whom she met at university.

In one poignant message, she wrote: ‘This guy makes me the happiest in the darkest of days.’

Poignant: Two tents stand on the car park where two women were gunned down by a man who then killed himself

Shooting: Police said that their officers had not fired any shots and added they do not believe the incident at The Castle sports centre is terrorism related

Charlotte was a keen rider at the Four Winds Equestrian Centre in Spalding. Owner Paula Leverton said: ‘I am just astounded because they were such a nice family.

‘They are not the sort of people who you would expect this to happen to. We are just all shocked. Charlotte was lovely.’

Lincolnshire Police confirmed they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. Temporary Superintendent Paul Timmins said yesterday: ‘Clearly, a situation such as this for a small community like Spalding is hard to comprehend. We are working alongside colleagues from the East Midlands Major Crime Team in order to provide answers around what has happened.’ The shooting had prompted fears of a terror attack, but police ruled this out.

Local councillor Gary Taylor said: ‘It’s terrible news and local people are very shocked. Gun crime does not exist in this area at all.’

Spalding previously hit the headlines in April when local dinner lady Liz Edwards, 49, and her 13-year-old daughter Katie were found dead in their home.