The surviving burglar who was shot by Tony Martin has broken his silence after 25 years to reveal he has ‘no anger’ towards the farmer who killed a teenager when he opened fire at his remote home.
Brendon Fearon, then 29, broke into Mr Martin’s Norfolk home in 1999 with fellow burglar Fred Barras, 16, who was shot dead by the farmer.
In a case which divided the nation, Mr Martin was jailed for murder in 2000, but released three years later after the conviction was reduced to manslaughter.
After Mr Martin’s death aged 80 this month, Mr Fearon, now 54, has finally broken his silence on the ordeal, saying the farmer ‘probably suffered as much in his life as I have’ since then.
Mr Fearon, who still endures ‘terrible pain’ from the wounds he suffered to his legs when being shot, told the Mirror: ‘Life’s not been kind to me but it was much crueler to little Fred, who lost his life, and his family.
‘But I have never felt any bitterness or animosity towards that farmer. He did what he had to do to protect himself and his home.’
He added: ‘I’m not saying he should have shot someone dead – that’s wrong – but he felt persecuted by us and we shouldn’t have been there.’
After the shooting, Mr Fearon underwent constructive surgery to repair one leg, while the other reportedly still has a hole in it.
Brendon Fearon (pictured) broke into a farmer’s Norfolk home in 1999 with fellow burglar Fred Barras, 16
Tony Martin outside his farmhouse Bleak House, Emneth Hungate, Norfolk, shortly after his release from prison in August 2003
Mr Martin shot dead burglar Fred Barras (pictured), 16, at his farm Bleak House in Emneth Hungate near Emneth, Norfolk, in 1999
Mr Martin’s death was confirmed this month by a family friend, who said he passed away having suffered a stroke a few months ago.
Friend Malcolm Starr said the pensioner ‘deserves a light up on him’, adding that he initially found him to be ‘very eccentric’.
He said: ‘I think his honesty got him incarcerated because he couldn’t lie.
‘Because if you go in that situation, you do everything you could probably to get out of it and say, this happened and they attacked me or something like that.
‘But what I’m saying is he’s really a very straight guy from that point of view.’
Mr Starr, who handled Mr Martin’s relations with the media, added: ‘I still maintain, how do you know how anyone would react until you’re faced with it?
‘I don’t think you can predict how you’d act if someone came into your property.’
Mr Starr said his friend tried ‘to carry on as normal’ after his release from prison.
‘He tried to carry on as normal, whatever normal was to Tony. I think most of the farm, he sub-contracted,’ he said.
At his trial, prosecutors claimed Martin had booby-trapped his home and armed himself with an illegal weapon
‘He didn’t do much of that himself, but he just liked meeting people.’
Mr Martin was convicted of murdering Mr Barras in 2000 but the case hit headlines again just a year later when the verdict was overturned on appeal. Following this, Mr Martin was sentenced to three years in jail for manslaughter.
The pensioner inherited the £3million Bleak House Farm in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk, on the death of aunt 40 years ago.
Mr Barras and Mr Fearon raided Mr Martin’s property on August 20, 1999, with the pair travelling from Newark, Nottinghamshire.
But on hearing the break-in, Mr Martin came downstairs from an upstairs bedroom and opened fire with a pump-action shotgun.
After the shooting, an injured Mr Fearon crawled to a nearby house for help.
Mr Barras was found dead in undergrowth surrounding Mr Martin’s property – where the farmer stored antiques – the following day.
When asked after his released from jail, Mr Martin always insisted those who broke into other people’s properties deserved all they got.
