The son of suspected murderer John Piccolo has paid tribute to his father whom he described as a fighter who had a zest for life.

Standing by his father's coffin, John Piccolo, who shares his father's name, choked back the tears and proclaimed: "Our Dad was not a bad Dad."

A full church listened as he spoke of the father who is suspected of killing 23-year-old Martin Cass and shooting two others, including his own son Darren, before shooting himself.

Mr Piccolo said: "As a family we don't know how to forgive him for his actions but he was like a different person. He was very ill."

He described the past two weeks as horrendous and said it was a tragedy which could not begin to be explained.

Family and friends heard at the funeral service at St Mary's Church in Dallinghoo, Suffolk, yesterday of the closeness of Darren and his father who were more like brothers than father and son.

As his voice started to break, John prayed his brother Darren would make a full recovery and prayed for forgiveness for his father.

And as three songs which reminded Mr Piccolo's children of their childhood were played, members of the congregation fought back tears.

Canon Richard Addington said Mr Piccolo had changed during the past eight months and had been referred for psychiatric help but with hindsight he had needed more urgent help.

The vicar gave This Is Essex permission to attend the service.

He said nobody could know what had gone through Mr Piccolo's mind in the last few hours of his life but may be he had turned to God for salvation.

Mr Piccolo was described as a successful horse breeder who enjoyed dealing in cars and when he first moved to the village had got involved in community events.

The congregation sang a single hymn, The Old Rugged Cross, at the service before moving into the churchyard to see Mr Piccolo laid to rest.

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