Alife sentence given to an eccentric farmer for shooting and killing a burglar has led to a fiery debate about what rights householders have to protect themselves from intruders.
Farmer Tony Martin was known by his neighbours as an odd-ball who lived on his own in a squalid farmhouse appropriately called Bleak House in Norfolk, eastern England. The 55-year-old loner had been burgled at least 10 times and had turned his home into a fortress.
He told what few friends he had that he would defend his property. When two youths broke into his home last August he used an illegal pump action shotgun to blast one intruder in the back, killing him, and seriously injure the other.
Martin was charged with murder and throughout his lengthy trial received support from farmers and others in the community. But when he was convicted last month there was a national outcry. Many people believed he had done what he had to do to protect his home.
The case raised important questions about the law of self defence and the extent of rural crime. As security protection in urban areas has improved there is evidence that many criminals are turning their attention to the rural areas.
Fear of crime in the countryside has been compounded by the closure of police stations in country areas and the disappearance of the traditional village policeman. Only one in four rural police stations are open around the clock while more than two-thirds of villages are without any full-time police presence. Most emergency calls are routed to nearby towns and dealt with by officers unfamiliar with the area.
