Five men have been jailed for a total of 112 years for conspiring to murder a man with a sawn-off shotgun at his home in Bury St Edmunds.

Eastern Daily Press: Police at Forum Court in Bury St EdmundsPolice at Forum Court in Bury St Edmunds (Image: Archant)

Suffolk businessman Colin Deferia, 60, and four other men were convicted in May of conspiring to murder Jonathan Catchpole at his home in Forum Court in Bury St Edmunds.

Deferia, of Battisford Road, Barking; Simon Webber, 32, of Sydenham Close, Bridgwater, Somerset; Frank Warren, 52, of Victoria Road, Dorchester; Andrew Seaton, 40, of Frome View, Maiden Newton, Dorchester and Paul Baker, 35, of Neils View, Maiden Newton, were sentenced yesterday at Ipswich Crown Court.

During the trial it was claimed Deferia hatched a plan to have Mr Catchpole murdered following a long-running dispute after making a number of threats to him.

Andrew Jackson, prosecuting, said that Baker, Webber, Seaton and Warren had lent themselves readily to the plan and were to be paid £12,000 for their' lethal services.'.

The court heard that Baker was the 'middle man' and Warren, Seaton and Webber were the three 'assassins or hit men' who visited Mr Catchpole's flat at 6.45am on Tuesday, August 4, 2015.

After storming into his home Mr Catchpole was shot at point-blank range but 'miraculously' survived despite having 42 shotgun pellets removed from his chest.

The three men fled in a stolen car which was set alight and later discovered by police in Rushbrooke Lane, Bury.

Judge David Goodin jailed Deferia for 26 years, Webber, Warren and Seaton for 23 years and Baker for 17 years.

Sentencing Deferia, he said: 'You had it all; your fall has been great. I wouldn't describe it as a tragedy because the evidence is that behind your good natured exterior and your generosity the evidence at trial, not least your own, portray a vicious and remorseless streak.'

Warren and Webber were also given a five-year concurrent jail sentence for possession of a prohibited firearm with Seaton sentenced to seven years concurrent for the same offence.

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Caroline Millar said yesterday: 'I am very pleased with the sentences that have been given today.

'On August 4, 2015, Jonathan Catchpole almost lost his life when three men came to his home address in Bury St Edmunds and shot him at point-blank range. It is a miracle he survived. I hope the sentences in some small way bring justice for Jonathan Catchpole and his family.'