I’ve suffered for 16 months, says farmer, 83, who shot trespasser
Family question why he was prosecuted after jury takes 24 minutes to acquit him for defending his land
AN 83-year-old farmer who shot a trespasser in self defence has questioned why he was prosecuted after it took a jury just 24 minutes to acquit him.
Kenneth Hugill broke down in tears as jurors cleared him of grievous bodily harm yesterday, and he criticised the Crown Prosecution Service for bringing the case against him.
Speaking outside Hull Crown Court, Mr Hugill and his family said the case had put him through 16 months of torment and was “unjustified” from the outset. He was arrested on his Yorkshire farm after shooting at a vehicle revving its engine close to the family home, resulting in the driver, Richard Stables, receiving treatment for a gunshot wound to his foot.
After their arrest in the early hours of November 13, 2015, Mr Hugill and his son David, 50, were allegedly told by armed police and forensic officers that they were searching the farm for “hostages”. The pair had DNA and fingerprint samples taken, and were held in custody for several hours.
Mr Stables later admitted he had been on the property with friends to go lamping, a form of night-shooting, but he was not charged with an offence.
Sir Roger Gale, the Conservative MP, said it was another example of the CPS treating criminals as though they were the “victims”.
“Given the circumstances, perhaps the CPS will now think twice about do- ing this again. It’s quite simple: people should have the right to defend their own property,” he said. “People break into other people’s homes, cause fear and misery, in this case trespassing.
“The jury in this case clearly heard the evidence and thought the old boy was quite right to defend his own property. If you don’t want to come to harm, don’t break into somebody’s else’s home or trespass on their land.”
During the three-day trial, the court heard how Mr Hugill, who uses a walking stick and hearing aid, had been “petrified” by the ordeal.
Speaking in court, the 83-year-old said he had fired an antiquated shotgun at the vehicle in an attempt to stop the intruders driving towards him, adding he had never intended to injure anyone.
David Hugill said the case had cost the family £30,000 in legal bills, as he criticised the police for their response to the incident.
“The police are pushed to the limit and can’t cover the countryside and people have the right to protect their property in the middle of the night when there is no response or back-up,” he said.
“It hits us very, very hard with us be- ing farmers; we don’t have much money and it’s money we’ll have to borrow to pay back over 20 or 30 years.”
Gerry Wareham, chief crown prosecutor, said it had been in the public interest to prosecute Mr Hugill.
“We considered all the evidence in this case extremely carefully, and took full account of the situation Mr Hugill found himself in that evening,” he said.
“We are satisfied that there was sufficient evidence to put the matter before a court and that it was in the public interest to do so.
“The jury has now returned their verdict and we respect their decision.”