A HUSBAND was shot in the cheek as he cut tree branches with his son Sam and daughter Jade at a Kent marina, a court heard.

The shooter, allegedly the daughter of his wife's secret lover, hid in grassland across from where Raymond Weatherall was standing by the riverbank just after 2pm last November.

Prosecutor Simon Taylor told Canterbury Crown Court "It might be said to be an ideal place for a gunperson to conceal themselves."

He added the bullet entered Mr Weatherall's right cheek between his temple and jaw and despite the injury, he remained conscious.

His daughter dialled 999 but because of his brain tumour, the bullet fragments have not been removed, it was said.

A pathologist concluded that if there had been a minor deviation of the bullet, it could have proved fatal.

When police arrived on the scene an hour later just after 3pm on November 29 there was no spent casings "In essence, this was an investigation which yielded few leads," said Mr Taylor.

But the breakthrough came on January 17 when Mr Weatherall's niece Emma Worsfold, contacted the police, jurors heard .

She told detectives of her growing suspicions that Glenn Pollard and his daughter Heather were involved after she became aware of the affair between Pollard and Mr Weatherall's wife Hayley.

Heather Pollard's car had been left with her dog inside close to the marina and police were called at noon to remove it.

Glenn Pollard was called at 1.15pm and assured officers his daughter was safe but had forgotten about the dog.

Another witness told police she had seen Heather's car drive off at speed at about 2.08pm - six minutes after the 999 call reporting the shooting.

Jurors heard because she was a young driver, a tracker was fitted to the car which showed it was close to the marina at 8.29am and remained there until 2.07pm.

Pollard would later claim she went to the marina to walk her dog and while there met a man.

She returned the dog to the car and then had sex with the man.

But Mr Taylor accused Heather of lying to her bosses by telling them she would be late for work as her grandmother had got stuck in a stair lift.

She only texted them at 3.15pm to say she was on her way to work.

The court heard an officer walked between where the car had been parked and the bank where the alleged shooting took place and it took four minutes.

Mr Taylor added Glenn Pollard nor Hayley Weatherall were near the marina but kept in contact with each other.

When officers went to Pollard's home in Stourmouth they found gun cabinets under the stairs in the living room and seized a large number of firearms.

One long-barrelled bolt action gun with a sight and suppressor attached was of the type consistent with the injury caused to Mr Weatherall, it was said.

All three deny conspiracy to murder.