Farmer Who Shot Dead 16-Year-Old Intruder Says He Would Do It Again

A farmer who famously shot dead a 16-year-old intruder in 1999 has revealed that he would do it again if the circumstances were the same.

Tony Martin, from Norfolk, UK, killed Fred Barras and injured accomplice Brendon Fearon with an unlicensed gun, landing himself a five year sentence for manslaughter.

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The case sparked debate across the country regarding how far one should be allowed to go in order to defend their home and now - almost exactly 20 years on from the killing on 20 August 1999 - the 74-year-old has revealed he wouldn't do anything differently should a similar threat present itself.

When asked by the Daily Mail if he felt any remorse, Martin said: "I've been called a 'kiddy killer'. I did nothing wrong. I did what anyone would do."

As to whether he'd do it again, he replied: "If the circumstances were the same, yes. Anyone would."

Martin - who has previously described Barras as 'vermin' - also revealed that he has visited the intruder's grave.

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He said: "I was up in Newark at the Midlands Show and there is a huge cemetery there. Well, Mr Barras is there, buried up the far end. It's quite hard to find.

"There was a man there and I asked where I'd find him [Barras] and he showed me. And there he was. Then he left me there.

"I stood for a minute or so, just looked at the headstone. There was a picture of him on it - the same one I'd seen in the papers.

"I didn't feel anything. I just stood there, totally removed from what I was looking at. I did think about how everything is of our own making, though. And that applies to him."

As to why he visited the grave, he added: "It wasn't respect, no. It was curiosity."

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Martin was originally sentenced to life in prison at Norwich Crown Court in April 2000, however, this sentence was later reduced to five years for manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, following an appeal which cited Martin's Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Martin said he is likely to end up behind bars again, claiming that Norfolk is under siege from immigrants and thieves.

He said: "Yes, I am extreme. Mother always said she was worried about me. A woman said to me the other day: 'I think you revel in it'. I don't revel in it at all, but I am liable to get locked up again the way things are going.

"I think we need Trump here."

Topics: uk news

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey