Farmer Robert Hooper argued an ‘Englishman’s house is his fortress’ as he defended his actions final yr when he used a forklift to forcibly transfer a automotive off his land
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A farmer who ‘defended his dwelling’ by flipping a automotive off his land with a forklift has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
Robert Hooper, 57, argued in court docket an Englishman’s house is his fortress and that he had been assaulted earlier than he used his tractor to forcibly take away the Vauxhall Corsa final June.
Cell phone footage confirmed him utilizing a telehandler with forks to elevate the £16,000 automotive from the lane outdoors his farm in Newbiggin-in-Teesdale, County Durham.
It was then flipped and pushed onto its aspect on the street outdoors.
Shirtless passenger Charlie Burns, 21, who had been visiting the world that day and had drunk as much as seven bottles of lager, was knocked to the ground by the car’s lifting forks.
The jury at Durham Crown Courtroom cleared Mr Hooper of harmful driving and felony injury after a four-day trial at Durham Crown Courtroom.
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Mr Hooper informed proceedings: “I felt threatened and an Englishman’s house is his fortress, and my fortress begins at that entrance gate.
“I assumed we now have a little bit of an issue right here, there’s two of them, half my age, I did not know what that they had when it comes to weapons, or what they had been able to doing.
“I assumed if the automotive was off the property, that might be them off the property, out of the way in which.”
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In his closing speech to the jury, Michael Rawlinson, defending, gave the origin of the saying, referring again to the choose Sir Edward Coke’s feedback which set authorized precedents in 1604.
Referring to arguments about how Mr Hooper might have acted in a different way that day, Mr Rawlinson additionally quoted the boxer Mike Tyson, saying: “Everybody has a plan till they get punched within the mouth.”
Mr Burns had been consuming with mates at Low Power waterfall, and having consumed as much as seven bottles of lager he was aspiring to stroll 52 miles again to South Tyneside.
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He informed the jury he noticed his good friend Elliott Johnson whose Corsa had suffered a double puncture, which was why they parked on the farmer’s lane.
In his closing remarks, David Ward, prosecuting, informed the jury the Crown was not saying Mr Hooper was a “thug”, however that his actions had been “completely irrational” on the day.
Decide Ray Singh had outlined routes to verdict for the jury, explaining the legislation surrounding self-defence and a defendant defending himself and his property.
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