Saw this on the BBC website.
Farmer showed some pretty impressive telehandler skills there!
He took a hell of a chance and I'm glad he got away with it.
Hopefully there won't be any repercussions from the yoofs involved.
I wonder if the police were called afterwards and whether they breathalysed the lad. That said, I think he was the passenger so presumably the driver had legged it!
Good on him to be honest, glad he was found not guilty
Sorry but how is it acceptable to take the law into your own hands like this? He claimed to have been in fear but he obviously provoked the yobs in the most extreme possible way!
"Burns had been drinking with friends at Low Force waterfall and was intending to walk 52 miles back to South Tyneside when he spotted his friend, Johnson, whose Corsa had suffered a double puncture, which was why they parked in the farmer’s lane, the jury heard."
WTF?!
Apparently he asked them to move a few times first and their response was to punch him in the face, then he got the telehandler and shifted the car.
Honestly they deserved it
Sorry but how is it acceptable to take the law into your own hands like this?
Good question. Unfortunately, there isn't a standard answer.
I wonder how the car got a double puncture, that's not usual is it?
The video seems to show the tyres weren’t punctured.
The yoofs also claimed there was no room to park it outside of the Farmer’s property yet in the video there’s clearly enough room outside of the gate for it to be dumped.
A lot of rural communities are blighted by these sort of yoofs so the farmer gets my vote. Had he not tipped the car over it’s reasonable to assume the yoofs would have driven it 52 miles whilst absolutely leathered.
Sorry but how is it acceptable to take the law into your own hands like this?
Because the law says you can, hence the verdict.
You have it get it right though.
I don't doubt for a second that the yoofs are thoroughly unpleasant and deserving of everything they got but I can't see that it's OK for a member of the public to dish out summary justice!
Unbelievable verdict, and equally amazing he got away with hitting the bloke with the loader.
Having said all of which, based on the limited info available, I'm glad he did.
I live near to where this happened.
The area around Low Force is very busy on good summer days, often chock a block, and cars double parked along the road.
Since this happened double yellows have been put along the road on both sides.
The farmers have been dealing with all kinds of anti sociable behaviour around the area for a long time.
The poor guy probably got to the end of his tether.
DrJ - what should the farmer have done?
2 oiks, one of whom was pissed; farmer had, allegedly, been assaulted; walking away and doing nothing causes the oiks to think they've 'won' and reinforces their belief they can do what they want without consequence.
Common sense and a very narrow interpretation prevailed in the courtroom so I see it as a great
decision.
"Sorry but how is it acceptable to take the law into your own hands like this?"
Fair point but as his lawyer says with his Mike Tyson quote, "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth "
I suppose it's all about the farmer being proportionate in his response?
In the heat of the moment though, after being assaulted... I can't help but be sympathetic with the farmer.
Sorry but how is it acceptable to take the law into your own hands like this
Because the law doesn't help in This case and the police aren't interested, so you have 2 options, rollover or rollover the car. I'm with the farmer.
Sorry but how is it acceptable to take the law into your own hands like this
Pray tell, what would YOU have done in the farmers position?
Good
We all have come across this type of individual. Mouthy , bolshy , tracky bottoms , white trainers , tins of Carling , one hand constantly checking their left testicle is still there .
They know the police wont to anything , and , in the unlikely event to rozzers do rock up they will get a slapped wrist , if anything at all.
Mr Farmer might have been better off picking up their mums Corsa and driving off up the lane at 10mph with the hapless yoof chasing , one hand cupping their left testicle , the other trying to stop their Adidas 3 stripes from falling down to their ankles and tripping them up.
Then carefully parking it on top of a dry stone wall / shipping container for them.
I know a few farmers * , and if you had genuinely broken down / had 2 punctures then they would do their upmost to help you.
Smack them in the mouth and what you saw in that video would be at the tame end of the scale
* one of them is a pig farmer and his nickname is Bricktop 😂
Farmer seems to have been disproportionate to me - wasn't the punch in the face once he started rolling the car?
Yoofs well dodgy also - 2 punctures, drunk, about to walk 52 miles? LOL
We all have come across this type of individual. Mouthy , bolshy , tracky bottoms , white trainers , tins of Carling , one hand constantly checking their left testicle is still there .
I thought I was in the Cannock Chase picture thread for a minute there...
I'm glad the farmer was acquitted.
I'm with the farmer on this one too.
Presumably though he is still liable for damages? Just not criminal damage?
I'm glad.
52 mile walk home... aye right
but I can’t see that it’s OK for a member of the public to dish out summary justice!
I don't think that is the decision that the jury came to. My understanding is that in this particular case they recognised the Common Law principle that everyone has the right to use reasonable force to defend their home against intruders.
It should be remembered that the jury will have based their decision on all the evidence provided to them, not simply that Guardian article.
Worth bearing in mind that news reports never have the full facts that the jury had.
If its the same as the self defence rule, its presumably what the farmer felt was "reasonable" at the time and in those circumstances. The same rule that means you can shoot or stab someone to protect yourself - obviously you then need to provide evidence to the Police, CPS and ultimately the jury to support your claim of reasonableness.
See, this is the type of case I’d be useless at in jury service.
‘Farmer not guilty, lock the others up for being knobs’.
Get a job in the prison service & you’ll be of the same mindset.
Get a job in the prison service & you’ll be of the same mindset.
You are Mr MacKay and I claim my 5 bars of soap.
Get down, Sprocket.
This is a disgraceful verdict. Now, farmers up and down the country will take the law into their own hands and remove whatever they percieve as a threat. Retrial, etc, etc.
one of them is a pig farmer and his nickname is Bricktop
Are you suggesting that this is 'a righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent'?
Excellent result. It backs up the idea that we should stand up to the jerks that wish to screw up our lives. No life was lost so nothing even slightly serious to get upset about. Once you break the law in even the slighest way you have chosen to disregard the society you live in. At that point you have chosen to remove yourself from the perks of society as well. If only every idiot parker was dealt the same way.
You are Mr MacKay and I claim my 5 bars of soap.
To be fair I was much more like Mr Barraclough but I could tell the difference between an arsewipe & your basic twerp.
It comes with experience.
Excellent result. It backs up the idea that we should stand up to the jerks that wish to screw up our lives. No life was lost so nothing even slightly serious to get upset about. Once you break the law in even the slighest way you have chosen to disregard the society you live in. At that point you have chosen to remove yourself from the perks of society as well. If only every idiot parker was dealt the same way.
Absolutely & well said. Watch out for the snowflakes incoming though.
I think many people are sick to the back teeth of
Mouthy , bolshy , tracky bottoms , white trainers , tins of Carling , one hand constantly checking their left testicle is still there
so I absolutely, 100% agree with what the farmer did.
Its a no-win situation though. Call the police and they do sweet f.all. Fight back then end up in court.
Add all the recent stuff with the Met (misogyny, fascism, BoJo's #10 pissups, rapist murderer cop etc etc etc) and its no wonder people don't trust the folk in blue.
STW in siding with a farmer/landowner taking maverick action to destroy mode of transport shocker!
I seem to have an almost thirty year irrational hatred of the Vauxhall Corsa, so I was slightly gratified to see one being tipped like that.
Burns had been drinking with friends at Low Force waterfall and was intending to walk 52 miles back to South Tyneside when he spotted his friend, Johnson, whose Corsa had suffered a double puncture, which was why they parked in the farmer’s lane, the jury heard
...and was intending to walk 52 miles back to South Tyneside
Chinny-reck-on though.
No life was lost so nothing even slightly serious to get upset about
Pushing somebody over with a telehandler fork could easily turn in to something very serious.
It makes me think of the 'nudging a protester with a Range Rover' video; pure chance that there was not a serious injury, and the driver in each situation is not able to fully control the potential consequence of their action on the person outside of the vehicle.
.... I wonder who took the video 🤔
Farmer seems to have been disproportionate to me – wasn’t the punch in the face once he started rolling the car?
Nope before.
Pushing somebody over with a telehandler fork could easily turn in to something very serious.
And that was totally on bell end number 1. Didn't look deliberate at all from the farmer, the idiot put himself right in the wrong place desperately trying to film it all.
Pushing somebody over with a telehandler fork could easily turn in to something very serious.
The jury apparently accepted that it was completely unintentional.
I assume that they discussed it among themselves after seeing and hearing the evidence.
Pushing somebody over with a telehandler fork could easily turn in to something very serious.
Walking alongside a reversing vehicle could easily lead to something serious.
…. I wonder who took the video
Errrr! The car owner.
and was intending to walk 52 miles back to South Tyneside
Oh aye, forgot about that but, must’ve been ex SAS/SBS/RM/Para’s. Bless. 😂
It backs up the idea that we should stand up to the jerks that wish to screw up our lives.
Maybe I wouldn't have been so blunt, but this.
But I accept that "reasonable force" is a tricky one. You can't judge it exactly in the heat of the moment, it can escalate and go badly wrong for either party.
Hope you're never pushed into that kind of situation.
Walking alongside a reversing vehicle could easily lead to something serious.
Especially when drunk and after physically kicking the fork lift. According to my risk assessment.
