BURGLARS

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A homeowner was arrested after a burglar plunged from the balcony of his top-floor flat. The intruder suffered head injuries and is fighting for his life after falling around 30ft on to a concrete path. Later police arrested the owner and are investigating whether the intruder was pushed. The incident happened when Patrick Walsh awoke to find the man rifling through his flat. They argued and the confrontation moved towards the rear window of the flat.

It is believed the intruder then smashed the window and clambered out on to a narrow ledge and fell to the ground. Mr Walsh phoned police and officers found the man on the ground outside the smart Victorian apartment block in Chorlton-cum-Hardy. He was taken to hospital with serious head injuries. Officers arrested Mr Walsh on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and are trying to establish whether the intruder was forced out of the window. (Source: Daily Mail, Aug/07)

Only eleven householders have been prosecuted for attacking intruders in the past 15 years, Ken Macdonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said. Mr Macdonald said the low total, which included only seven domestic burglaries, proved existing laws give the public adequate protection to defend their property. Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, has come under fire from the Tories for ruling out a change in legislation to allow people to use extreme force against intruders. The opposition has argued that the law is biased against homeowners, a view overwhelmingly supported in opinion polls.

But Mr Macdonald said an informal trawl of Crown Prosecution Service files had shown prosecutions for attacks on burglars were extremely rare. He said, "The law is on the side of householders. Those who attack intruders will only be prosecuted if they use very excessive force." The most well-known of the 11 prosecutions was that of the Norfolk farmer Tony Martin, who was jailed for murder, later reduced to manslaughter, after he shot dead a fleeing teenage burglar. They also included a householder in Manchester who left a burglar with brain damage after hitting him several times with a shovel.

The CPS also listed several cases in which no prosecution was brought over that period. A robber died after being stabbed by a newsagent in Manchester, but the CPS did not bring him to court and prosecuted the surviving robber, who was jailed for six years. Patrick Mercer, the Conservative MP who has tabled a Bill to allow householders to use all but "grossly disproportionate" violence against intruders, said, "What about those who have stood trembling in indignation and horror, fearing what the law would do to them if they were to tackle the person who was violating their home? I challenge Mr Clarke to publish the names of these people, the silent majority." (Source: The Independent)

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