A man who killed a close friend in the UK while "testing" what both thought was a bulletproof vest has lost his bid to appeal against his seven-year jail sentence.

Lorry driver Ian Catley fired a shotgun at Philip Harper in a farmer's field near Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, in June last year because Mr Harper had asked him to help him test out his new purchase.

Catley's barrister, Mark McDonald, argued it was a case of "stupidity and recklessness" on the part of both men and that the sentence was "manifestly excessive".

But the Court of Appeal ruled that the 41-year-old, of Melbourn, was guilty of "gross negligence to a very high degree" and rejected his renewed application for permission to appeal against the sentence.

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