The Law " WHAT A DISGRACE "

Businessman vs burglars in midnight fight at his premises. Now HE'S on GBH charge
Andrew Woodhouse claims thieves chased him with a wooden stick

Businessman claims he grabbed stick and used it to injure one of the men
' Has been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent '

Will appear before magistrates along with two men he apprehended
By PAUL BENTLEY
PUBLISHED: 00:10, 11 June 2013 | UPDATED: 00:10, 11 June 2013


Andrew Woodhouse has been charged with GBH after he says he fought off suspected thieves who were raiding his premises
A businessman who confronted suspected burglars raiding his premises at night could be jailed after he grabbed one of the gang’s weapons and used it to fight back.
Andrew Woodhouse, 43, claims he was chasing thieves off his property when one of them ‘came at’ him with a wooden stick.
In the scuffle, he managed to grab the stick and used it to injure the man’s legs before holding him down and screaming at his wife to call the police.
After a series of burglaries at his paving firm in Abergavenny, South Wales, Mr Woodhouse thought he might finally have helped to bring one of the robbers to justice.
But then police arrested Mr Woodhouse as well and held him in a cell for 18 hours.
He has been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent and will appear before magistrates on Thursday, along with the two men he apprehended.
‘I was scared. It was pitch dark, they had hoods on and I was getting hit,’ the father of five said last night.
‘I can’t see what else I could have done. I thought it was a man’s right to protect his property. I’ll fight to clear my name.’
While the law was changed a few months ago to protect those who use force against burglars, the rules apply only at home, not if thieves are chased outside.
Mr Woodhouse’s case has led to calls for the Crown Prosecution Service to show ‘common sense’ in dealing with those who defend themselves outside, with MPs calling the decision to prosecute him ‘astonishing’.
If found guilty, he could face a sentence of life imprisonment.
Mr Woodhouse was in bed with his wife Lisa at their detached home in the village of Govilon when his burglar alarm went off at about 12.30am. The alarm is fitted to his business premises on an industrial estate a mile from his six-bedroom £350,000 home.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z2VvDmBxOy

I'm sure your allowed to shoot intruders in the US ?
If i caught anyone in my house i'd have to do time because i honestly think i would kill or maim them. The victims of crime come off worse than the scum who caused it that's why the uk is like it is..

Annis, WTF is the world (or the UK, at least) coming to when a man can't protect his own property from the scroats that would steal his belongings and (in this case) threaten his livelihood, i.e. his business

I'm sure most wouldn't be responsible for their 'actions' if they were in a similar position and it wasn't as if they weren't caught red-handed

A sound 'explanation' in the error of their ways and a one-way trip far up the M4 with the words "Feckin prove it, bach" might have been a better option, eh?

Seriously though, I sincerely hope some common sense occurs on this one

This should not deter anyone from fighting intruders into your property.Defend your self/family and property I say, do whatever you have to win.....better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6.

I know him, and he is a decent very hard working bloke.
Fed up of being robbed he decided to protect his livelihood as the police would do nothing to help. They could not wait to nick him as it is another notch in their crime figures.
Any surprise the Chief Constable of Gwent was told to resign over mainly target policing to obtain good clear up crime rates. (Not saying this case is related). Alleged she got a £10,000 bonus for achieving targets - unbelievable, being paid a bonus for the job she was paid to do anyway.
Lots of local support for Andrew Woodhouse so hopefully all works out ok for him.

It is a disgrace Annis.

If their in your property you can't use violence unless their upstairs either isn't it?

Do not even worry about this for a second tghere is no way the CPS will prosecute this case

of course hes going to get arrested hes assaulted someone

the police will work on that policy, now its down to the courts to decide whether he is guilty or not

this man would have made a complaint of theft these thieves have claimed assault

has a theft taken place, yes
has a possible assault taken place, yes

the police will work on that information, the courts will decide if you are guilty or not

if you shoot someone in america defending your property, you will still be arrested and the shooting is investigated

dont see a lot wrong with it myself

Disgrace!
I think it should be that if you choose to burgle and get caught whilst in the act when the owner fights back to protect his property or family then you forfeited your rights the moment you broke in !

The law is an arse.........especially when someone who throws a traffic cone after a football match gets 18 months in prison and the same day a person found guilty of child pornography gets a suspended sentence.its time for a shake up...and the political party who goes with it could get a lot of votes at the next election.

Did he react to the alarm at his business by leaving his home? Then confronted the burglars?

If so the police are seeing him as an aggressor.

It's not right, but they are taking this further because he did not alert the police to attend the premises before going there himself. He disarmed the burglar, attacked him with his own weapon, incapacitated him, THEN got his wife to phone the police.

You learn not to take the law into your own hands. It's all twisted, I know.

of course hes going to get arrested hes assaulted someone

the police will work on that policy, now its down to the courts to decide whether he is guilty or not

this man would have made a complaint of theft these thieves have claimed assault

has a theft taken place, yes
has a possible assault taken place, yes

the police will work on that information, the courts will decide if you are guilty or not

if you shoot someone in america defending your property, you will still be arrested and the shooting is investigated

dont see a lot wrong with it myself

bell end. someone attacks you and tries to rob you and you defend yourself you are in the wrong is it? people like you are
part of the reason britain has gone down the pan.

of course hes going to get arrested hes assaulted someone

the police will work on that policy, now its down to the courts to decide whether he is guilty or not

this man would have made a complaint of theft these thieves have claimed assault

has a theft taken place, yes
has a possible assault taken place, yes

the police will work on that information, the courts will decide if you are guilty or not

if you shoot someone in america defending your property, you will still be arrested and the shooting is investigated

dont see a lot wrong with it myself

bell end. someone attacks you and tries to rob you and you defend yourself you are in the wrong is it? people like you are
part of the reason britain has gone down the pan.

right dont call me a bell end its stupid talk like a human being ill explain

if you hit someone you may or may not be guilty of assault, the police will look at the evidence based on these facts

thief made a complaint of assault, this guy has obviously admitted to hitting the thief, thats enough for an arrest, thats all the police need, a crime may have been committed.

its now down to the courts to decide whether this mans actions were justifiable or not, its no different in america and you can use lethal force in america why should it be different here

I'm sure your allowed to shoot intruders in the US ?
If i caught anyone in my house i'd have to do time because i honestly think i would kill or maim them. The victims of crime come off worse than the scum who caused it that's why the uk is like it is..

The US law defends the victim not the criminal.

Each state has slightly different laws but in general when a burglar steps over your threshold he loses his rights and you can shoot a burglar and the US law will side with you. You are supposed to shoot to maim.

Jonny, he has been arrested and CHARGED which means the CPS think they will get a conviction.

We havent heard the whole story yet, that bit above sounds like he chased them down the street. Whether right or wrong the law changes to him then being the aggressor.

Law changed last year and basically you can pretty much do anything to an intruder as long as its your property.

He was chasing them off his property....there lies the case for intent....I'm glad we have this law in place.

Look at that little kid in America who was shot dead walking through a private estate.

I hope they send Zimmerman to the electric chair....trial starts this week.

of course hes going to get arrested hes assaulted someone

the police will work on that policy, now its down to the courts to decide whether he is guilty or not

this man would have made a complaint of theft these thieves have claimed assault

has a theft taken place, yes
has a possible assault taken place, yes

the police will work on that information, the courts will decide if you are guilty or not

if you shoot someone in america defending your property, you will still be arrested and the shooting is investigated

dont see a lot wrong with it myself

bell end. someone attacks you and tries to rob you and you defend yourself you are in the wrong is it? people like you are
part of the reason britain has gone down the pan.

right dont call me a bell end its stupid talk like a human being ill explain

if you hit someone you may or may not be guilty of assault, the police will look at the evidence based on these facts

thief made a complaint of assault, this guy has obviously admitted to hitting the thief, thats enough for an arrest, thats all the police need, a crime may have been committed.

its now down to the courts to decide whether this mans actions were justifiable or not, its no different in america and you can use lethal force in america why should it be different here

CHARGED is the operative word. this means the police actively sat down with the CPS and decided it is worth prosecuting not
only that but they gone for the throat with a GBH i call you a bell end cos in my eyes you could not wait to sing the good old
PC song. smug smarmy post by you.

I know Andrew very well. A cousin of my Stepfathers, regularly see him in the family pub and drink with his sons most weekends. A true character, devoted family man and very nice bloke. This particular case sickens me to the stomach, being that i actually know the man and how he was forced to defend his property and family business, after recent burglaries.

The burglar suffered a broken leg, and in my opinion came off lightly to what Andrew could have inflicted upon him. He was outnumbered 3 to 1 and forced to defend himself, any one of us here would have done the exact same thing.

Jonny, he has been arrested and CHARGED which means the CPS think they will get a conviction.

We havent heard the whole story yet, that bit above sounds like he chased them down the street. Whether right or wrong the law changes to him then being the aggressor.

Law changed last year and basically you can pretty much do anything to an intruder as long as its your property.

so being charged doesnt make you guilty all that says the sequence of events in this alleged crime holds true which means it now has to be heard in front of a judge or magistrate.

and no the law hasnt changed to allow you to do what you want to an intruder it allows you to defend yourself , DEFEND being the key word and not going on an attack

of course hes going to get arrested hes assaulted someone

the police will work on that policy, now its down to the courts to decide whether he is guilty or not

this man would have made a complaint of theft these thieves have claimed assault

has a theft taken place, yes
has a possible assault taken place, yes

the police will work on that information, the courts will decide if you are guilty or not

if you shoot someone in america defending your property, you will still be arrested and the shooting is investigated

dont see a lot wrong with it myself

bell end. someone attacks you and tries to rob you and you defend yourself you are in the wrong is it? people like you are
part of the reason britain has gone down the pan.

right dont call me a bell end its stupid talk like a human being ill explain

if you hit someone you may or may not be guilty of assault, the police will look at the evidence based on these facts

thief made a complaint of assault, this guy has obviously admitted to hitting the thief, thats enough for an arrest, thats all the police need, a crime may have been committed.

its now down to the courts to decide whether this mans actions were justifiable or not, its no different in america and you can use lethal force in america why should it be different here

CHARGED is the operative word. this means the police actively sat down with the CPS and decided it is worth prosecuting not
only that but they gone for the throat with a GBH i call you a bell end cos in my eyes you could not wait to sing the good old
PC song. smug smarmy post by you.

sorry if your not prepared to listen and continue calling me names I have no time or inclination to debate you I will continue this conversation with sensible people

I know Andrew very well. A cousin of my Stepfathers, regularly see him in the family pub and drink with his sons most weekends. A true character, devoted family man and very nice bloke. This particular case sickens me to the stomach, being that i actually know the man and how he was forced to defend his property and family business, after recent burglaries.

The burglar suffered a broken leg, and in my opinion came off lightly to what Andrew could have inflicted upon him. He was outnumbered 3 to 1 and forced to defend himself, any one of us here would have done the exact same thing.

I would have shot them to be fair. In Bulgaria you are allowed a gun and anyone who comes on your property without reason you can shoot. Protecting your home should be a human right. Im not surprised at this story Annis, the country has gone down the political shitter.

Only in GB would the general public allow this to happen.

It's not against the law to defend yourself against burglars or other intruders. Aslong as you prove it to the court that the said person had illegally entered your home and was committing or attempted to commit a crime, then the law should be on your side.

It's not against the law to defend yourself against burglars or other intruders. Aslong as you prove it to the court that the said person had illegally entered your home and was committing or attempted to commit a crime, then the law should be on your side.

What country do you live in cos that certainly doesnt apply to Broken Britain 2013.

disgrace indeed.

reasonable force is what the law says, i have no idea what i'd do in this situation, but if i had a baseball bat or similar if i panicked i might sock em on the head with it, it sums up how stupid the law is that i could then be the subject of legal action!

It's not against the law to defend yourself against burglars or other intruders. Aslong as you prove it to the court that the said person had illegally entered your home and was committing or attempted to commit a crime, then the law should be on your side.

Reasonable force is a load of political shit mate. Honestly, people have been done in this country for defending their home. In Bulgaria unless the mafia are doing your house in (unlikely unless you are also mafia or famous) just kill the person and be done with it.

This country is a joke in some aspects and takes it moral high ground Kumbaya singing liberal bollocks way too seriously. If politicians actually did some bloody real work in the world and lived in crap times they'd get a wake up call.

You should not be able to be a politician until a certain age and until you have a life experience and can be a person who has a well rounded life. No one who's out of touch with the real world should be put in a place of power and able to have influence on the lives of others.

Vote Farage mate. Hes worked in finance and business for years and knows what hes on about. The other parties are scared because he knows the score and it brings a threat to their inner circle joke where they all keep each other in jobs and look after one another.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... l-job.html < I dont give a crap if its the DM, its true

The Cons, Labour (New) and Liberal Democrats all work together to suit their own agendas and gang up on other parties to cast them as outcasts and turn the general consensus against them just as a gang of bullies would in the playground.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009 ... -interview

Put it this way, who would you want in control of the countries debt? Someone with a background in finance or a jobs worth from university who thinks he knows everything and hasn't had a real job in his life?

Words fail me. Madness

most of our judges are ready for the graveyard.

of course hes going to get arrested hes assaulted someone

the police will work on that policy, now its down to the courts to decide whether he is guilty or not

this man would have made a complaint of theft these thieves have claimed assault

has a theft taken place, yes
has a possible assault taken place, yes

the police will work on that information, the courts will decide if you are guilty or not

if you shoot someone in america defending your property, you will still be arrested and the shooting is investigated

dont see a lot wrong with it myself

Absolutely.

A poster talking sense.

What your support to do is tie them up take them for a nice drive up the Brecon Beacons and donate them to a farm