Wounded burglar wins right to sue farmer

Convicted burglar Brendon Fearon has won the right to sue jailed farmer Tony Martin for damages.

At Nottingham County Court, District Judge Brian Oliver, overturning an earlier decision, said that he concluded that it was proper to grant Fearon the relief that he sought.

Brendon Fearon (33), was wounded in the leg and accomplice Fred Barras (16) died when Tony Martin (58) opened fire with an illegally held pump-action shotgun, after the two broke into his semi-derelict farm dwelling in Norfolk.

Fearon, who has multiple convictions for burglary and was jailed for his part in the attempted robbery of Martin’s farmhouse, claimed that the shooting had affected his sex life and caused post-traumatic stress.

Fearon was granted legal-aid to pursue a claim for damages against Martin, but the case, which originally failed earlier this year, now looks set to proceed when both men complete their prison terms.

Last month a parole appeal lodged by Martin was turned down in the High Court. Martin had lodged the appeal after the parole board refused to grant him early release from prison.

He will now have to wait until he becomes eligible for parole in July this year.

The case sparked fierce controversy over the right to defend property.

Martin, who was originally sentenced to life imprisonment for the shooting dead the 16-year-old who broke into his farmhouse, had his sentence reduced to five years when the charge against him was reduced to one of manslaughter.

Currently serving his sentence in Highpoint Prison in Suffolk, Martin has served two-thirds of his sentence for the shooting which occurred in his remote Norfolk farmhouse in 1999.

(SP)