A husband accused of shooting dead his wife's married lover and burning his body told a jury he had never pointed a gun at anyone.

Andrew Jones, 53, wept as he gave evidence for the first time in his trial accused of murdering father-of-three Michael O'Leary in January this year.

The builder is alleged to have lured the 55-year-old to his death after discovering his wife Rhianon, 51, was having an affair with him.

Jones is accused of shooting Mr O'Leary with a rifle during a confrontation at a remote farm in Carmarthenshire and then burning his body in a rusty oil drum at a yard next to his home.

Mr O'Leary's body has never been found but a charred piece of his intestine was recovered from the oil drum.

Giving evidence at Swansea Crown Court, Jones told the jury he held a legal collection of eight firearms - some deactivated - stored at his home in Carmarthen.

Answering questions from his barrister Karim Khalil QC about his collection, Jones said: "I have never pointed a firearm at anybody, empty or loaded, ever."

Jones, who runs a building company, later broke down in tears as he was asked about his friendship with Mr O'Leary.

"Yes, I had known of him for about 30-odd years and known him personally about 25 years," Jones said.

The defendant described to the jury the build-up to learning in September last year of his wife's affair, saying she had become "very distant".

"We had a bit of an argument and I left it a week. She wanted to have a sit down and have a chat," he said.

"She sat down and said she didn't love me any more and wasn't looking forward to our daughter growing up and leaving and just us two alone."

After his wife had returned from an evening out, he saw a missed call on her phone from Mr O'Leary which he thought was "strange".

Later, he guessed the passcode to her iPad and saw messages between the pair.

"I was shocked when I found out and very surprised," he said.

"There was nothing explicit, I worked out they met up together. I was shocked and disappointed and thought I should have been paying more attention to her.

"I was really upset and I didn't blame Mike because Rhianon is a really nice person and totally out of character and she's stunning and I thought I can't blame him."

Jones, of Bronwydd Road, Carmarthen, denies murder.

The trial continues.