Second arrest made in farm death inquiry

Police investigating the death of a farm business owner have made a second arrest.

Julian Gardner who ran a repair business for agricultural machinery was found dying on his driveway at Bush Barn Farm, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, on 11 October.

A 29-year-old man from the Ashford area of Kent was arrested on Friday 22 October.

Earlier in the week a 40-year-old man, also from Ashford, was arrested and bailed until 25 November pending further inquiries.

Police are investigating whether Mr Gardner was the victim of a botched robbery.

Two vehicles, which were known to have been at Bush Barn Farm, were later found burned out at separate locations a few miles away.

A Land Rover Defender, which belonged to Mr Gardner, was found at Cripps Corner and a Jeep Cherokee was discovered near a pond in Sandhurst, Kent.

The police officer leading the inquiry, detective chief inspector Adam Hibbert, said Mr Gardner’s injuries were “consistent with being squashed between two objects while standing up”.

DCI Hibbert said that Mr Gardner had possibly disturbed people forcing outbuildings where he ran an agricultural and car repair business.

“If you look at the hypothesis of this being a burglary, one object of desire for burglars is motor vehicles, so it’s a fair assumption that was their reason for going there,” he added in a report by the BBC.

Mr Gardner was a licensed gun holder and detectives have also been exploring the possibility that a firearm might have been involved.