old Grump
10-05-2010, 03:44 PM
'You brought it on yourselves': Judge backs vigilante homeowner after yobs try to SUE him over catapult attack
By Andrew Levy (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Andrew+Levy)
Last updated at 7:51 AM on 30th September 2010
What we call slingshot they call catapult.
Bruce Harwood pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm after injuring three youths with ball-bearings fired from a catapult.
A desperate homeowner who injured a group of thugs with a catapult as they terrorised his neighbourhood has won backing from a judge who threw out the teenagers' claims for damages.
Bruce Harwood, 38, and his neighbours in a converted Georgian townhouse were subjected to a two-year reign of terror by 20 youths who urinated on the front door, threw eggs at the windows and regularly caused disturbances into the early hours.
The electrician finally snapped when the louts followed a car through the electronic gates protecting the Grade II listed building in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire.
As the female driver ran into the building fearing for her safety, electrician Mr Harwood grabbed a catapult he needs for his business and fired a several 'warning volleys' of small ball bearings at them.
Three of the louts were accidentally hit, leaving them with minor injuries to their legs and groins, and he was arrested by police.
He has now admitted causing actual bodily harm and been ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid community work.
But in a common sense victory for victims of anti-social behaviour, the judge threw out the hoodie-wearing yobs' claims for £1,200 compensation each, saying they 'brought this very much upon themselves'.
Sitting at Cambridge Crown Court, Judge Gareth Hawkesworth said: 'In this incident, it is entirely clear to me that you and the other residents were subjected to a lot of incidents of anti-social behaviour that were deliberate provocations by local youths.
'On this occasion you and other residents had suffered from a number of disturbances that amounted to deliberate provocation.
'You responded by taking a catapult and firing it. Such action easily could have caused serious harm. Your fault was in not notifying police.
'But I think it wholly inappropriate that I should make a compensation order given that they brought this very much upon themselves.'
The ruling came days after Britain's most senior police officer said forces had lost their 'psychological contract' with the public to keep the streets clear of anti-social behaviour.
Scotland Yard chief Sir Paul Stephenson admitted beat patrols were being neglected as officers spent increasing amounts of time behind desks.
Speaking after the hearing, Mr Harwood, who has moved out of his £520-a-month penthouse flat and now lives with his fiancee in Northamptonshire, said: 'I was just trying to scare them away and I didn't think I had hit them. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt anyone.
file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/owner/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image002.jpg
Home turf: The gang even threw stones through the window of his top-floor two-bedroom apartment in a Grade II listed Georgian townhouse in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. 'The police seem to have said to these lads "Poor you, let's get you some compensation" instead of "What the hell were you doing there?"
'This flat was my dream home and we've been under constant bombardment. Most people have moved out because they can't cope.' It was on the evening of April 11 that 15 teenagers took advantage of the open gate to surge into the grounds of the four storey building, which had eight flats, forcing the terrified car owner to flee into her home.
When Mr Harwood went to his window to see what was happening, the gang began chanting 'rich bastards' and started banging on the communal entrance. Fearing they were going to break in and go on the rampage inside the building, he grabbed the catapult - which he bought for work to fire wire through tubes - and a handful of 38mm ball bearings which he used to fire several warning shots.
Mr Harwood added yesterday: 'We've called police on so many occasions they sometimes don't turn up and have never arrested any of these kids'. During the court case on September 21, Benedict Peers, defending, was reading out a long list of incidents involving the youths when he was stopped on the 13th example. Judge Hawkesworth told him he had heard enough to prove there had been 'provocation'. 'When you have 15 or 20 hoodies screaming and shouting you have to figure some way of getting them out. I was scared they'd get into the building.'
Three of the flats are empty at present because the occupants have had to move out.
One of the other residents, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said: 'It's been going on well before Bruce moved in. I'm glad he did something because the police wouldn't.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316211/Judge-backs-vigilante-homeowner-yobs-try-SUE-catapult-attack.html#ixzz11AzIy141 (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316211/Judge-backs-vigilante-homeowner-yobs-try-SUE-catapult-attack.html#ixzz11AzIy141)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316211/Judge-backs-vigilante-homeowner-yobs-try-SUE-catapult-attack.html
Bless his little pea picking heart, and you guys thought the Brits didn't have any back bone. If it had been me and my sling shot any hits really would have been an accident. Good thing they weren't Muslims though, Judge would have had to toss the book at him and a Muslim family would have moved into his flat before he got home from court.
By Andrew Levy (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Andrew+Levy)
Last updated at 7:51 AM on 30th September 2010
What we call slingshot they call catapult.
Bruce Harwood pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm after injuring three youths with ball-bearings fired from a catapult.
A desperate homeowner who injured a group of thugs with a catapult as they terrorised his neighbourhood has won backing from a judge who threw out the teenagers' claims for damages.
Bruce Harwood, 38, and his neighbours in a converted Georgian townhouse were subjected to a two-year reign of terror by 20 youths who urinated on the front door, threw eggs at the windows and regularly caused disturbances into the early hours.
The electrician finally snapped when the louts followed a car through the electronic gates protecting the Grade II listed building in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire.
As the female driver ran into the building fearing for her safety, electrician Mr Harwood grabbed a catapult he needs for his business and fired a several 'warning volleys' of small ball bearings at them.
Three of the louts were accidentally hit, leaving them with minor injuries to their legs and groins, and he was arrested by police.
He has now admitted causing actual bodily harm and been ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid community work.
But in a common sense victory for victims of anti-social behaviour, the judge threw out the hoodie-wearing yobs' claims for £1,200 compensation each, saying they 'brought this very much upon themselves'.
Sitting at Cambridge Crown Court, Judge Gareth Hawkesworth said: 'In this incident, it is entirely clear to me that you and the other residents were subjected to a lot of incidents of anti-social behaviour that were deliberate provocations by local youths.
'On this occasion you and other residents had suffered from a number of disturbances that amounted to deliberate provocation.
'You responded by taking a catapult and firing it. Such action easily could have caused serious harm. Your fault was in not notifying police.
'But I think it wholly inappropriate that I should make a compensation order given that they brought this very much upon themselves.'
The ruling came days after Britain's most senior police officer said forces had lost their 'psychological contract' with the public to keep the streets clear of anti-social behaviour.
Scotland Yard chief Sir Paul Stephenson admitted beat patrols were being neglected as officers spent increasing amounts of time behind desks.
Speaking after the hearing, Mr Harwood, who has moved out of his £520-a-month penthouse flat and now lives with his fiancee in Northamptonshire, said: 'I was just trying to scare them away and I didn't think I had hit them. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt anyone.
file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/owner/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image002.jpg
Home turf: The gang even threw stones through the window of his top-floor two-bedroom apartment in a Grade II listed Georgian townhouse in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. 'The police seem to have said to these lads "Poor you, let's get you some compensation" instead of "What the hell were you doing there?"
'This flat was my dream home and we've been under constant bombardment. Most people have moved out because they can't cope.' It was on the evening of April 11 that 15 teenagers took advantage of the open gate to surge into the grounds of the four storey building, which had eight flats, forcing the terrified car owner to flee into her home.
When Mr Harwood went to his window to see what was happening, the gang began chanting 'rich bastards' and started banging on the communal entrance. Fearing they were going to break in and go on the rampage inside the building, he grabbed the catapult - which he bought for work to fire wire through tubes - and a handful of 38mm ball bearings which he used to fire several warning shots.
Mr Harwood added yesterday: 'We've called police on so many occasions they sometimes don't turn up and have never arrested any of these kids'. During the court case on September 21, Benedict Peers, defending, was reading out a long list of incidents involving the youths when he was stopped on the 13th example. Judge Hawkesworth told him he had heard enough to prove there had been 'provocation'. 'When you have 15 or 20 hoodies screaming and shouting you have to figure some way of getting them out. I was scared they'd get into the building.'
Three of the flats are empty at present because the occupants have had to move out.
One of the other residents, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said: 'It's been going on well before Bruce moved in. I'm glad he did something because the police wouldn't.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316211/Judge-backs-vigilante-homeowner-yobs-try-SUE-catapult-attack.html#ixzz11AzIy141 (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316211/Judge-backs-vigilante-homeowner-yobs-try-SUE-catapult-attack.html#ixzz11AzIy141)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316211/Judge-backs-vigilante-homeowner-yobs-try-SUE-catapult-attack.html
Bless his little pea picking heart, and you guys thought the Brits didn't have any back bone. If it had been me and my sling shot any hits really would have been an accident. Good thing they weren't Muslims though, Judge would have had to toss the book at him and a Muslim family would have moved into his flat before he got home from court.