THERE was “an extremely strong possibility” that a tiny screw found at the home of farm labourer John Cooper came from a gun used in the murder of an Oxfordshire couple, a jury heard.

Gerard Elias, prosecuting, said the double barrelled shotgun, was thrown away by Cooper as he fled from a robbery at a house in Sardis, Pembrokeshire, in 1996.

Cooper was later convicted of the robbery in 1998 and jailed for 10 years, plus an additional six years for 30 burglaries.

Cooper, of Spring Gardens, Letterston, denies four murders including those of Witney holidaymakers Peter, 51, and Gwenda Dixon, 52. They were tied up and shot dead as they walked the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path while on holiday in 1989.

The prosecution say minute traces of Mr Dixon’s blood were found on the weapon when it was recently re-examined using the latest forensic techniques.

Gun expert Ian Johnson told Swansea Crown Court he examined the shotgun, which had a screw missing.

He said there was an “extremely strong possibility” that a screw found by detectives when they searched Cooper’s former home came from the weapon.

The trial continues.