A MAN has died in a shooting accident on a remote farm in the region.

The incident happened on land near Newlands Hall Bed and Breakfast and West Newlands Farm on the A689 between Wolsingham and Frosterley, County Durham.

It is the fourth tragedy to hit the closeknit community of Wolsingham in three months.

The alarm was raised shortly before 11am yesterday when a man told staff at Newlands Hall, that a colleague had been badly hurt after a shotgun had been fired.

Paramedics were unable to help the victim, who was believed to be in his 50s, and he was confirmed dead at the scene.

The man who had been with him was unhurt, but badly shaken.

An investigation into the tragedy was carried out yesterday afternoon and police confirmed that it was not being treated as suspicious.

It is believed the man and his colleague were on the land lawfully when the gun was discharged.

The area of land is a mile east of the village of Frosterley and is believed to be owned by The Otter Trust, which had premises on the land in 2002.

In Frosterley and Wolsingham, residents thought the men may have been shooting rabbits when the incident occurred.

A woman in Wolsingham, who did not want to be named, said: "People often go to that area to shoot rabbits - a lot of people instantly thought that it must have been something to do with that.

"It sounds like a really nasty accident and my heart goes out to the man's family.

"This area doesn't need yet another awful tragedy - it's not been a good year around here."

Brian Robson, 65, from Stockley Grove, Frosterley, was on a bus when he saw the air ambulance at the scene of the incident.

"I glanced out the window and saw the air ambulance in a field. At first I thought it might have been a car accident - there was a lot of activity going on.

"It's very sad that a fourth tragedy has happened in Weardale," he said.

The identity of the man has not yet been confirmed by police. Officers and Health and Safety Executive officials remained at the scene until late afternoon.

In May, Andy Herd, 33, died when his van exploded in the centre of his home village of Wolsingham. Mr Herd, 33, who left a pregnant widow, Jennifer, was driving to work when oxyacetylene cylinders exploded in the back of the van, scattering the wreckage of the Ford Transit around the Front Street and Market Place area, causing damage to buildings.

In July, Peter Williams, 25, from Darlington, died after he was thrown from the cab of his seven-tonne Calor Gas tanker when it plunged 50ft off a bridge on to the Weardale Railway, Wolsingham.

Also last month, part-time lifeguard and keen footballer David Bulmer, 19, of Roseberry Crescent, Crook, collapsed and died at Wolsingham Community Pool.