A man who shot dead a planning officer in view of TV cameras to protect an illegally built bungalow has died in a care home a year after being freed.

Albert Dryden gunned down Derwentside Council planning officer Harry Collinson, in Butsfield, County Durham, in June 1991.

He was convicted of murder and the attempted murder of a solicitor.

Dryden was released from prison last year after suffering a stroke and died aged 77 in a care home at the weekend.

He was also convicted of wounding a police officer and BBC journalist Tony Belmont.

Alex Watson was his lifelong friend and also Derwentside Council leader at the time of the shooting.

Now an Independent Durham County Councillor, he said the case was "tragic" as Dryden and the man he had murdered knew each other well.

He said: "I'd known Albert all my life - he was well known in the area and was very private.

"He loved the countryside like Harry Collinson did. They had interests that they shared and it went on for years.

"Albert would come in and have a cup of tea with Harry and they would talk about the situation.

"But Harry was quite adamant that what Albert was doing (building the bungalow without permission) was wrong."

Dryden opened fire on Mr Collinson and a solicitor, Michael Dunstan, as they led a council operation to demolish the bungalow he had built on a smallholding down a country lane.

When Mr Collinson, a 46-year-old divorced father of two, fell wounded into a ditch, Dryden hit him with two further shots.

Mr Watson, who had visited Dryden at few weeks before his death, said: "It was quite tragic - devastating for Harry's family because this was a killing that should never have happened.

"It should have been prevented - the media and the police were there.

"The police were well warned about the situation because Albert had this passion for collecting weapons."

During the trial at Newcastle Crown Court in April 1992, the former steelworker claimed he was mentally unwell and not responsible for his actions - a claim that was rejected by the jury.

The Parole Board released Dryden on "compassionate grounds" in 2017 after a stroke left him disabled and unable to speak.