Postman shot himself after being caught with mistress

A village postman who began an affair with a riding instructor shot himself minutes after her husband caught them together in their bedroom.

Fleeing the angry confrontation, Barry Clemens phoned his lover Cheryl Mundy to warn of his suicide plan, telling her: "I've got my gun. I'm going. I'm going to shoot myself."

After receiving the call, Mrs Mundy had dashed from her stables near Chittlehampton, North Devon, to nearby woodland.

But she was too late. When she arrived ten minutes later, she found Mr Clemens dead from a massive shotgun wound to the head.

Mr Clemens's widow Sharon, 34, sat in silence at Barnstaple Coroner's Court yesterday as details of the love triangle were revealed in a written statement from Mrs Mundy.

The inquest heard how a scuffle broke out at the mother of two's home last November when her husband Richard returned unexpectedly and found Mr Clemens, 36, in the bedroom.

In her statement, the school governor said: "He was shouting. Barry tried to calm Richard down.

"Richard managed to grab hold of Barry by the shoulders and bumped Barry out of the bedroom and into my son's room.

"I saw Richard push down on Barry and Barry had a cut face with blood on his chest."

She told how Mr Clemens got into his silver Mitsubishi and drove away, calling her from his mobile phone to tell her was going to Hawkridge Woods to shoot himself.

Twice-divorced Mrs Mundy, 41, said she took the threat "very seriously as he was so upset before he left".

Leaving her husband at home, she drove after Mr Clemens and spotted his car parked inside a gateway.

His body was lying alongside his shotgun a few feet away.

Mrs Clemens, who works at the same furniture factory as Mr Mundy, told in a statement how she found a suicide note from her husband on the kitchen table on the afternoon of his death.

She then noticed his gun case was missing and in its place was an empty bottle of wine.

A friend told her he had seen Mr Clemens, a charity fundraiser and hunt follower, return to their house with a bloody nose.

Knowing that Mr Clemens liked to ride at the Mundy stables, his wife drove there, only to find nobody home and signs of blood on a utility room sink.

In his statement to the inquest, Mr Mundy said: "I did hit him in anger but I had no wish for him to suffer permanent harm in any way."

Details of the relationship between Mr Clemens and Mrs Mundy were not disclosed at the inquest.

Recording a verdict of suicide, Exeter and Greater Devon Coroner Dr Elizabeth Earland said: "I would like to send my deepest sympathies to all concerned."

Mrs Clemens refused to comment after the inquest and the Mundys did not attend.

The tragedy stunned the picturesque village, where the two couples lived barely a mile apart.

Friends of both couples described them as well-respected community figures, heavily involved in rural life.

Mrs Mundy is well known on the Devon equestrian circuit as an accomplished show jumper who often attends village fetes with her horses.

Mr Mundy was among mourners at Mr Clemens' funeral, although his wife stayed away.

In the immediate aftermath of Mr Clemens' death, Mr Mundy condemned the gossip circulating around Chittlehampton.

"For Sharon, Cheryl, Barry's family - everyone's benefit - what I've said to all the gossips is just leave everyone alone to get on with their lives and rebuild their lives,' he said.

"We don't want anyone to be upset. Especially Sharon and my wife.

"We all live together, we all have friends who are each other's friends."