Farmer Tony Martin, who shot and killed teenage burglar, dies aged 80

Farmer Tony Martin, who was jailed for shooting dead a teenage burglar, has died at the age of 80, a friend has confirmed.

Martin served three years in prison after shooting Fred Barras, 16, at his home in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk, in 1999.

He was initially found guilty of murder, but this was reduced to manslaughter on appeal.

Martin’s friend, Malcolm Starr, told the PA news agency that the Norfolk farmer had died in hospital on Sunday after suffering a stroke in December.

Martin was living alone at his farmhouse, nicknamed Bleak House, when he caught Brendon Fearon, then 29, and Barras, 16, inside on August 20 1999.

He fired his shotgun three times towards the intruders, killing Barras.

The case provoked a national debate about the measures homeowners can take to defend their property.

Mr Starr said Martin “deserves a light up on him”, adding that he initially found him to be “very eccentric”.

He told the PA news agency: “I think his honesty got him incarcerated because he couldn’t lie.

“Because if you go in that situation, you do everything you could probably to get out of it and say, this happened and they attacked me or something like that.

“But what I’m saying is he’s really a very straight guy from that point of view.”

Mr Starr, who handled Martin’s relations with the media, added: “I still maintain, how do you know how anyone would react until you’re faced with it?

“I don’t think you can predict how you’d act if someone came into your property.”

Martin told PA in 2013 that he had once again confronted a burglar at the property.

He said he caught the would-be burglar while checking on an outbuilding. They drove off when confronted and Martin decided not to attempt to stop him, saying: “I couldn’t face going through all that again.”

Martin said at the time: “I haven’t changed my views about what happened in 1999, but the whole experience has made me lose faith in the system and I didn’t want to be made out as the criminal again.”

Published: 02/02/2025 by Radio NewsHub