A COUPLE and their 31-year-old son were found shot dead in their

gas-filled bungalow yesterday.

Building firm director Alan Taylor, 63, and his wife Joan, 58, were

discovered dead in bed while the body of their son Grant was in another

room. A .22 rifle was in the house at Whickham, Gateshead, Tyne and

Wear, which was filled with gas.

The discovery was made by a relative who is thought to have found a

note directing him to an outhouse where there was a will.

Mr and Mrs Taylor and their son worked in the family business, road

building materials supplier Abcon, of Blaydon, Gateshead.

Mr Alexander Elliott, 54, a family friend who lives near the #170,000

detached four-bedroomed bungalow in Broom Lane, said: ''They were all

such lovely people -- this is an appalling tragedy. They seemed so very

happy with life. They all seemed to get on very well together.''

Alan Taylor is believed to have pushed a note through his

mother-in-law's letterbox during the night, and she went to the bungalow

early yesterday with a male relative.

Police said they had recovered a rifle which belonged to Alan Taylor,

who held a firearms certificate.

They said the bungalow was filled with fumes from calor gas bottles

and there were no signs of forced entry.