'Reasonable force' law explained as dad kills intruder in home invasion crowbar attack

A dad-of-two stabbed an intruder to death when a gang broke into his home and beat him with a crowbar in front of his family.

The horror ordeal unfolded when an armed group of six burst into the property in Selby, North Yorkshire, in a burglary. The unnamed dad was beaten in view of his partner and children, but managed to grab an intruder and stabbed one of the six men during the struggle. He did not face any criminal charges as police said the man was defending himself and his family. Households have some legal protections over the use of "reasonable force" against intruders.

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Five of the burglars fled the scene in a getaway car and left the stabbed man at the Selby home. The dad tried to save the life of the sixth intruder and called 999.

North Yorkshire Police and paramedics raced to the home but pronounced the man dead at the scene. The other burglars have been jailed for almost 70 years in total.

The dad did not face any charges for stabbing the intruder because legally, Brits are allowed to use reasonable force to protect themselves or others if a crime is taking place inside your home.

There is no specific legal definition of "reasonable force" but the government says: "It depends on the circumstances. If you only did what you honestly thought was necessary at the time, this would provide strong evidence that you acted within the law."

The "reasonable force" law means people can protect themselves "in the heat of the moment"- this includes using an object as a weapon. The law also allows people to stop an intruder running off - for example by tackling them to the ground.

The Crown Prosecution Service offers guidance on this law: "Anyone can use reasonable force to protect themselves or others, or to carry out an arrest or to prevent crime. You are not expected to make fine judgments over the level of force you use in the heat of the moment.

"So long as you only do what you honestly and instinctively believe is necessary in the heat of the moment, that would be the strongest evidence of you acting lawfully and in self-defence. This is still the case if you use something to hand as a weapon.

"As a general rule, the more extreme the circumstances and the fear felt, the more force you can lawfully use in self-defence."

The CPS says people do not have to wait to be attacked to defend themselves "if you are in your own home and in fear for yourself or others".

Homeowners have also been told what could happen if the intruder dies, as the CPS explains when people could potentially be prosecuted. CPS guidance states: "If you have acted in reasonable self-defence, as described above, and the intruder dies you will still have acted lawfully. Indeed, there are several such cases where the householder has not been prosecuted.

"However, if, for example: Having knocked someone unconscious, you then decided to further hurt or kill them to punish them; or you knew of an intended intruder and set a trap to hurt or to kill them rather than involve the police, you would be acting with very excessive and gratuitous force and could be prosecuted."

The five other gang members that broke into the home in Yorkshire have been jailed for a total of nearly 70 years for aggravated burglary. The men jailed are:

• Alan James Hall, 34, of Selby
• Daniel Welford, 32, of Pontefract
• Max Jackson, 33, of Stockton on the Forest, York
• Kallan Hunt, 35, of no fixed address
• Andrew Richardson, 38, of Doncaster