Man shoots 6-year-old daughter in the head, then shoots himself

              A six-year-old girl is fighting for her life in hospital after she was shot in the head by her father, who was found dead after then turning the gun on himself.

             The girl was flown to hospital in London with life threatening injuries following the shooting on Cavix Field, off Spring Hill in Northiam, near Rye, East Sussex on Thursday afternoon.

The man was found slumped in a car outside the house with a single gunshot wound to the head.

Sussex Police said his death was not being treated as suspicious and there was no evidence the public was at risk.

Although they described the shooting as "a tragic domestic incident", they refused to confirm relationship between the girl and the man.

Neighbours reported hearing the girl’s mother, who is separated from the father, scream "he’s got a gun" before two shots rang out.

One villager, Anthony Burr, said he had heard the man had gone to his former partner's home where the girl lived and shot the youngster.

Mr Burr, 37, who works in public relations, said: 

"At round 4pm, I came back and heard what I thought was a firearm about 200 yards from our house.
 "Then my neighbour, who my kids were playing with, said there were reports that a father had shot his daughter and was still at large.
"Then I started to get reports that he had shot himself. What appears to have transpired is that a father has gone to his ex's house where his daughter lives and has shot her.
"This has all come from neighbours and eyewitnesses."

The girl and her mother are said to have only lived in the normally quiet village for about a year.
Neighbours described the young daughter "absolutely beautiful" and "charming".

Margaret Bensley, who lived near the mother and daughter, said: "She was pretty and she spoke very well