Millionaire businessman Christopher Foster was filmed by his own CCTV cameras firing a rifle at a horsebox shortly after he killed his wife and teenage daughter, detectives said last night.

Millionaire businessman Christopher Foster was filmed by his own CCTV cameras firing a rifle at a horsebox shortly after he killed his wife and teenage daughter, detectives said last night.

Ending days of speculation surrounding the fate of Mr Foster and his family, police said the 50-year-old businessman took his own life after setting fire to his £1.2m home.

Revealing details of CCTV footage recovered from Osbaston House in Maesbrook, Shropshire, Detective Superintendent Jon Groves said it showed outbuildings ablaze as a figure opened fire on a horsebox which had been used to block the driveway.

Mr Groves said: "CCTV recovered from the house shows a man, who we strongly believe to be Mr Foster, in the grounds of the property during the early hours with what appears to be a rifle in his hands.

"It also shows outbuildings going up in flames around the same time and a large horsebox being moved down the driveway in front of the gates to the premises.

"A man, again believed to be Mr Foster, is seen to get out of the vehicle and apparently shoot out two of the tyres."

Mr Groves said officers believed that Mr Foster killed his wife Jill, 49, and their daughter Kirstie, 15, before setting fire to their mansion.

Detectives have established that Mrs Foster died of a gunshot to the head before the fire started, but are still awaiting the results of a post-mortem on a body thought to be that of Kirstie.

Mr Groves declined to answer questions about a number of aspects of the inquiry, including the state of mind of Mr Foster at the time of the killings.

The officer also refused to discuss the millionaire's financial affairs or whether bailiffs were due to call at his home on August 26.

Emergency services called to the property at about 4am that day found three horses and four dogs which had been shot dead.

Subsequent searches of the house led to the discovery of a .22 rifle, which was legitimately owned by Mr Foster, near his body and that of his wife.

Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.

Mr Groves said: "We believe that Mr Foster killed his wife and daughter before setting the fires which destroyed his home and many of its outbuildings in the early hours of Tuesday. We believe Mr Foster took his own life after setting the house alight."

He said he had taken the decision to disclose details of the investigation to quell media speculation and to give "early answers" to the local community.

Mr Foster, 50, amassed his fortune developing insulation technology for oil rigs.

But earlier this year he was branded "bereft of the basic instincts of commercial morality" by a High Court judge, who added that Mr Foster was someone "not to be trusted".

Court documents show Mr Foster's company, Ulva Ltd, which had gone into liquidation, faced legal action from one of its suppliers for thousands of pounds and owed about £800,000 in tax.

The Fosters were last seen when they attended a friend's barbecue on the evening of August 25.

They returned home afterwards and Kirstie is thought to have stayed up chatting to friends online until about 1am the next day, three hours before the fires were set.

A team of about 100 police officers and staff have been working to establish the circumstances leading up to the fire.

Martin Timmis, the head of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said an investigation was still being carried out to establish exactly how the fire was started.

It is thought that an accelerant was used by Mr Foster, although inquiries are continuing to establish the exact nature of the substance.

Mr Timmis said: "It's clear from what we have seen with the aerial footage that there is likely to have been more than one seat of fire."

Further tests will be required to confirm the identity of the remains believed to be those of Kirstie.