Wife killer Roger Goswell was an intimidating bully with a fiery temper and aspirations to be a "country gent", those who knew him said today.

Goswell, 66, murdered his wife of 46 years, Susan Goswell, and beat her round the head with a mallet at their home in Silverwood, West Chiltington Common, on Sunday.

He then drove his car into a tree, killing himself.

Nigel Wolters and his wife Sue live in West Chiltington Common and have known the Goswells for 20 years.

Sue described Mrs Goswell as "an extrovert, a lovely lady who always seemed happy".

Mr Wolters said he was not surprised to hear that Goswell had mental health problems and that the revelation "explains a lot".

He said: "Roger was an intimidating man, a bully who was always determined to win, no matter what the cost.

"He could go into a rage and I'm not surprised that he had mental health problems.

"He could fly off the handle too quickly. He would take things to excess. He would take them too far."

Mr Wolters, who lives in Threal's Lane, near to the tragic couple's home, had first-hand experience of Goswell's extreme reactions in the 1990s.

The property developer had used what Mr Wolters described as "battering ram tactics" to try and get residents to accept his plans for six houses on a strip of land opposite his home.

He said that when he and his neighbours expressed concern over the proposals, Goswell had dumped manure on the land opposite people's homes and put pigs and heifers in temporary buildings on the land in a bid to frustrate those living opposite.

The land was never developed but the rusting buildings still blot the picturesque view along Threal's Lane.

Mr Wolters, a retired IBM manager, said: "I always said to Roger, 'You're going about this the wrong way'.

"He should have been meeting with the residents and getting them on-side but instead he just alienated them.

"I actually quite liked him. He was a loveable rogue but what he needed was a part of his brain that was missing - empathy."

Mr Wolters said Goswell had social aspirations and wanted to be seen as a country gent, well-off and upper class.

He said: "Roger would drive around in various sports cars. He would change them every few months.

"You could tell what he was driving because of his personalised number plate A1 ROG. Sue's was SUE 22G.

"He liked the notoriety of it and it fits that persona of being someone a little bit above the norm."

Mr Wolters added: "I do feel very sorry for the family.

"We don't know them but what a terrible thing to happen. It's a tragedy."

Neighbours said the couple were on the verge of divorcing and had recently put their £700,000 house up for sale.

The childhood sweethearts had previously been landlords of several pubs, including the Stonemasons in Petworth and the White Horse in Bury, near Arundel.