A man will appear in court today charged with murdering a mother and daughter at a dog breeding farm.

The bodies of Christine Lee, 66, and her daughter Lucy, 40, were found on Sunday in Farnham, Surrey.

John Lowe, 82, was charged last night with two counts of murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

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He will appear in custody at Guildford Magistrates Court today.

The women were related and known to Mr Lowe.

Post-mortem examinations showed they died from gunshot wounds.

Four dogs - three German shepherds and a labrador - were also shot and were removed from the farm, Keepers Cottage Stud, by the RSPCA, which also rescued a number of other animals.

Police returned a number of shotguns to the property seven months before the shooting.

A shotgun licence and a number of licensed shotguns were seized from the property last May - but returned two months later.

The police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), is now looking at the previous contact Surrey Police had with the parties involved and whether an investigation should follow.

A police spokesman said: “Surrey Police had had previous contact with parties involved in this incident and has referred a past contact to the IPCC.

”In May 2013 a shotgun licence and a number of licensed shotguns were seized from the address, however the licence and guns were returned in July 2013.

“We are in the process of establishing if one of these licensed guns was the firearm recovered on Sunday.

”Surrey Police is reviewing the return of the licence to ensure compliance with Home Office guidelines and has referred this matter to the IPCC.“

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Armed police were called to the property at 10am on Sunday.

The body of one woman was found inside, while the body of the other woman was found outside near animal pens to the back of the house.

No one else was at the property at the time and a long-barrelled firearm was recovered from the scene.

The RSPCA confirmed that it had made a number of visits to the property over the last few years, including visits with other agencies.

PA