Farmer who flipped car with telehandler cleared of charges

A farmer who used a telehandler to flip a car parked on the drive outside his farm has been cleared of dangerous driving and criminal damage.

Fourth-generation hill farmer Robert Hooper, 57, told the jury: “An Englishman’s home is his castle and my castle starts at that front gate.”

Following more than four hours of deliberation on the fourth day of the trial at Durham Crown Court on Friday (4 February), the jury returned “not guilty” verdicts, 20 minutes after being given a majority direction by Judge Ray Singh.

See also: Video: Farmer forcibly removes car with telehandler

The Teesdale farmer had denied the charges arising from him using a yellow Kramer telescopic loader, fitted with fork rails, to remove a Vauxhall Corsa.

The car had been parked on the driveway to his property, Brockersgill Farm, at Newbiggin-in-Teesdale, at 5.30pm on Saturday 5 June last year.

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Mr Hooper said he asked the Corsa driver and passenger to move it, but they claimed it had two deflated tyres and refused. The court heard that on hearing this, the farmer said he would move it himself.

As he did so, he said he was abused by the owner, and his passenger, shirtless Charlie Burns, 21, who he claimed punched him in the face through the cab window as he dumped the now damaged Corsa on the verge of the road outside his property.

Mr Hooper explained that he was defending his property and himself, and he acted after the assault left him with a split lip. He told the court he felt “frightened and threatened”.

He said he definitely did not mean to strike Mr Burns with the the telehandler’s forks, knocking him to the ground.

Good character

The court heard that Mr Hooper, of previous good character, had had a busy day baling silage and had returned to the farm for his dinner, planning to go out again to continue working. 

He said he did not call the police because his farm had suffered about eight burglaries in recent years, and they had not received the best response time.

In his closing speech during the trial, prosecutor David Ward said Mr Hopper was not a “nasty thug who goes around the Dales attacking people”, but his actions were “utterly irrational” on this day.

Mr Hooper’s barrister, Michael Rawlinson said his client acted as the men had refused to remove the Corsa from his land and he had been assaulted.

During the trial, Mr Rawlinson quoted the boxer Mike Tyson, who once said: “You may have a plan (in a fight), until someone punches you in the face.

“Everyone would like to do something different, but if you are being punched in the face you can’t do a great deal.”

Mr Rawlinson argued that his client had the legal right to defend his property relying on a 400-year-old precedent set by British jurist Sir Edward Coke.

Common law principle

The Old English common law ruling, known as Semayne’s case, established the right of a homeowner to defend their home against intrusion (“Every man’s house is his castle”).

Jurors were tasked with deciding whether the ruling should apply to Mr Hooper’s case – and they decided that it did.

Supporters from the Teesdale farming community cheered Mr Hooper as he emerged from the court alongside his partner, Karen Henderson. They had answered a rallying cry by the Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services group to go to the court in support of Mr Hooper.

Ms Henderson read a statement, which said: “Robert would like to thank his barrister, Michael Rawlinson, and his solicitor, Sarah Smith, for all their hard work and support throughout.

“The overwhelming support of the local community and people from afar have kept him going during these last eight months of hell.

“We welcome the jury’s verdict and are thankful for it.”

Mr Hooper’s followers were delighted at the outcome of the case, hailing it as, “a victory for the dale”.

Fellow Teesdale farmer William Wearmouth, who described Mr Hooper as, “a great bloke”, said: “It’s totally and absolutely the right result. The whole dale is happy.”