Fifty-year-old Nigel Bacon was attacked with a knife outside his Keeper's Cottage home close to Clumber Park on 26th November last year and died in hospital later that evening.

Mr Bacon's widow, Susan Bacon (55), also of Keeper's Cottage, and son Michael Bacon (21), of Wordsworth Avenue, Mansfield Woodhouse, recruited hitman Peter Jacques (29), of Charlesworth Street, Bolsover, to carry out the knifing.

• Click 'play' to listen to the 999 call made by Susan Bacon shortly after the attack.

Michael Bacon's father-in-law Sean Woodcock (42), of Mapletoft Avenue, Mansfield Woodhouse, had been accused of helping Susan and Michael Bacon contact Jacques - but he was cleared of murder.

All four denied murder but a jury took less than four hours to find Jacques and the two Bacons guilty and Woodcock not guilty.

The three will be sentenced on Monday.

After the verdicts were announced, Susan and Nigel Bacon's son Stuart Bacon (29), of Nottingham, and Lyndsey Brown (32), of Mansfield, and Kerry Widdowson (30), of Mansfield Woodhouse, daughters of Nigel Bacon to a previous marriage, released a statement.

"We feel today that justice has been served," the statement said. "No matter what happened in the past, our dad did not deserve to die like this.

"Our dad was a big man with a generous heart who wasn't scared of anything. He loved his job as a gamekeeper and was in his element living in the beautiful surroundings of Clumber Park, where he enjoyed the peace and quiet.

"His death was a tragedy and we were all devastated to lose him so suddenly.

"Dad can now finally rest in peace and we can try to move on with our lives."

And speaking outside the court, Det Chief Insp Kate Meynell said: "Today's verdict marks the end of a long and painstaking investigation. It brings to justice three cold and calculating people motivated largely by greed.

"The fact that Nigel Bacon's wife and son, not only hired a contract killer to murder him, but were with him as he died from his stab wounds, is abhorrent.

"The fact that they lied to try and cover their tracks shows nothing but contempt.

"Susan and Michael Bacon planned a contract killing, but they are as guilty as Peter Jacques who wielded the knife.

"A 50-strong investigation team worked tirelessly to bring these three despicable individuals to justice."

After being cleared by the jury, Sean Woodcock said he felt 'very sick' to have been accused of taking part in the plot.

He said: "I've lost a year of my life and I just want to go back to my family."

Martin Bramley, the Crown Prosecution Service's reviewing lawyer, said extensive examination of the guilty parties' phone records - in particular Susan Bacon's secret 'dirty' phone - had been crucial to the case.

"This crime was a planned, determined cold-blooded contract killing of a family member for no other reason than greed and loathing," Mr Bramley said.