Watchdog says it is considering investigation after police say confiscated shotguns were returned last July

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Police firearms officers returned a number of shotguns to a dog-breeding farm in Surrey seven months before the suspected double murder of a mother and daughter on Sunday.

The police watchdog said it was considering launching an investigation after Surrey police confirmed they had confiscated several licensed shotguns during a search of the farm in Farnham, Surrey, in May last year – but had returned the firearms in July.

Detectives are investigating whether one of the shotguns was used in the fatal shooting of two women and four guard dogs at the farm on Sunday morning.

A long-barrelled gun was recovered by officers when they discovered the bodies of the two victims, believed to be Christine Lee, 66, and her 40-year-old daughter Lucy, at the Keepers Cottage Stud.

As police continued to question 82-year-old John Lowe over the suspected double murder, the Independent Police Complaints Commission confirmed it had been called in to assess "previous police contact with the parties involved". The watchdog said it had not yet decided whether to launch a full investigation.

A Surrey police spokeswoman said: "In May 2013 a shotgun licence and a number of licenced shotguns were seized from the address. However the licence and guns were returned in July. We are in the process of establishing if one of the guns was the firearm recovered on Sunday."

Lowe, a dog breeder who has owned the farm for many years, remained in police custody on Tuesday morning after police were granted an extension to continue questioning him on suspicion of the murders.

Detectives have until around 4pm on Tuesday to decide whether to charge the suspect or release him from custody.

Armed officers arrived at the property within 20 minutes of neighbours raising the alarm and tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the women, who were discovered along with a long-barrelled firearm in separate parts of farm.

The body of the elder woman was discovered inside the property while her daughter was found outside near animal pens at the back of the house, which is surrounded by dense woodland.

The three German shepherd dogs and a labrador are believed to have been Lowe's guard dogs. The RSPCA rescued a fifth dog, an old English sheepdog, and a number of other animals found at the property.

Lowe is understood to have run Keeper's Cottage Stud for at least 10 years, keeping up to 50 dogs in the farm's 20 kennels as recently as last year.

However, he is thought to have cut back his involvement in dog breeding in the past year as he coped with the death of his partner and struggled with a knee operation.

It is understood that Lowe was convicted several years ago of illegal puppy farming and that last year Surrey police officers searched the property but said there was no evidence of ongoing illegal dog breeding.