A man has been found guilty of manslaughter through gross negligence after a loaded shotgun went off in a vehicle parked outside a Llanbedrog pub, killing an 18-year-old gamekeeper.

Peter Colwell, a gamekeeper on the Boduan estate near Pwllheli, died of a single gunshot wound to the head from a semi-automatic shotgun going off when he was sitting in the back of a Land Rover Discovery in February 2017.

Ben Wilson, 29, of Ely, Cambridge, and Ben Fitzsimons, 23, of Nanhoron, Pwllheli, were found guilty of possessing a loaded shotgun in a public place but denied manslaughter through gross negligence.

Wilson was convicted of the manslaughter charge and Fitzsimons was found not guilty after a jury deliberated for four hours on Tuesday.

Caernarfon Crown Court heard that Colwell’s death happened as the group were out drinking in a series of local pubs.

Wilson drove the group between pubs in his Land Rover Discovery.

The vehicle was parked outside the Ship Inn in Llanbedrog, with the shotgun placed in the footwell and the barrel pointing backwards when Colwell was shot.

Wilson was the owner of the shotgun in question, and insisted it was made safe. He was not in the vehicle when it was fired.

Although the judge emphasised that the killing was neither deliberate nor malicious, it was ruled that the incident was fundamentally irresponsible and that the men involved showed no regard for gun safety rules.

Added to this was the influence of alcohol, which was considered the most fundamental problem when combined with the presence of a firearm, the court heard.

The judge has bailed both defendants and the two men are set to be formally sentenced on Thursday, 27 June.