The story of Tony Martin, the Norfolk farmer who was convicted of the murder of a teenage burglar who broke into his isolated Norfolk home, created worldwide interest.

Here we provide a diary of events:

Friday, August 20, 1999
Burglars break into Tony Martin’s isolated farm at Emneth Hungate, near Wisbech. He fires his shotgun at them. Brendan Fearon crawls to a neighbouring house and raises the alarm.

Saturday, August 21, 1999
Martin arrested at a hotel in Wisbech. At first he is questioned on suspicion of wounding Fearon, while detectives begin searching Bleak House. That afternoon, they find Fred Barras’s body in the undergrowth behind the house.

August 23, 1999
Martin is charged with murder, wounding with intent and possessing an illegally-held pump-action shotgun.

August 24, 1999
Supporters demonstrate outside the court as Martin appears before King’s Lynn magistrates.

September 7, 1999
Martin is given bail on condition he resides at a safe house outside Norfolk.

September 8, 1999
Police and politicians are shouted down at a packed public meeting at Emneth Village Hall. Villagers voice their fury at the rising rural crime wave.

September 9, 1999
Newark Nottinghamshire, comes to standstill and hundreds attend the funeral of Fred Barras. The vicar appeals for calm and says there should be no thoughts of revenge.

September 10, 1999
Martin sent back to Norwich Prison for his own safety after it emerged a £50,000 bounty had been put on his head by travellers.

September 17, 1999
Martin is bailed to another secret address, known only to a handful of police officers.

September 20, 1999
Getaway driver Darren Bark jumps bail. He is later arrested in Torquay, Devon.

November 8, 1999
Brendan Fearon appears before King’s Lynn magistrates charged with conspiring to burgle Martin’s home.

December, 1999
Police admit they are spending £20,000 a month on security measures to protect Martin’s empty farmhouse, which is to be used as an exhibit at the trial.

April 19, 2000
Anger erupts across the country after Martin is found guilty of murder, amid allegations of jury nobbling.

April 24, 2000
An independent report reveals police numbers have fallen under labour. Norfolk has one of the lowest levels of officers per head of population.

April 28, 2000
Martin’s solicitor Nick makin lodges an appeal, claiming witnesses and jurors were intimidated.

August 2000
Martin sacks Mr Makin his barrister Anthony Scrivenor QC.

November 1, 2000
Brendand Fearon and Darren Bark jailed for conspiring to burgle Martin’s farmhouse. Fearon was given three years, Bark 42 months.

February 2001
Martin’s new solicitor, James Saunders, reveals he will be appealing for the murder conviction to be reduced to manslaughter on the grounds that Martin had a history of mental health problems.

April 2001
Probation officers contact Brendan Fearon in prison, to inform him he is a victim of crime and is entitled to be consulted about the terms of Martin’s parole if and when he is released.

Fred Barras Sn

June 13, 2001
Fred Barras Snr, father of Tony Martin’s 16-year-old victim, is jailed for 14 years for his part in an armed robbery in which a woman security guard was tied up.

July 2001
Martin’s appeal is due to be heard but is put back to give the prosecution more time.

August/September 2001
Brendan Fearon freed after serving half his sentence. In a newspaper interview he later pledges he is going straight. Darren Bark is also freed but soon ends up back inside again.

October 15, 2001
Martin’s appeal begins before three top judges, chaired by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf.

October 15, 2001
Darren Bark admits burglary, causing actual bodily harm and making threats to kill at Sheffield Crown Court. He is remanded in custody for sentencing.

October 17, 2001
The appeal ends and judgement is reserved.

October 30, 2001
Tony Martin's conviction is reduced to manslaughter. His setenced was reduced to five years — meaning he will be eligible for parole in a year.

Freedom
Tony Martin was released from custody on July 28, 2003. A Prison Service spokesman said he was released from an undisclosed location, adding: “He is now a free man.”
Martin served two-thirds of a five-year jail term for shooting dead teenage burglar Fred Barras and wounding his accomplice Brendan Fearon during a raid at his isolated farmhouse at Emneth Hungate, near Wisbech in August 1999.

Freed Martin stays in hiding
Tony Martin was released from custody at 9am this morning, according to north-west Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham. Speaking to the media outside the farmer's home at Emneth Hungate, Mr Bellingham said details of his immediate plans were still firmly under wraps.
July 28, 2003

'I fear for my son's safety'
The mother of Tony Martin told of her fears for his safety last night as he prepared to taste freedom for the first time in three years today.
July 28, 2003

The friend who stayed loyalOne of Tony Martin's closest woman friends spoke of the ordeal of his arrest, trial and time in prison.
July 28, 2003

Couple's lives changed forever
When Jackie and Paul Leet answered their door to find Brendan Fearon lying with a shotgun wound to his leg, it was a night which would change their lives.
July 28, 2003

'Rough justice'
Tony Martin accused Norfolk police of “shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted” yesterday as he spoke out on his first day of freedom.
July 29, 2003

Press watchdog will investigate Mirror
The Press Complaints Commission have launched an investigation into the payment to Tony Martin for his story.
July 29, 2003

Police defend Bleak House operation
Norfolk Police today defended the security operation they are mounting around Tony Martin's home.
July 29, 2003

Martin's MP calls for law change
Henry Bellingham says there needs to be an in-depth look at all aspects of the issues of self-defence and the rights of householders.
July 30, 2003

Police probe Martin gun claim
Police are investigating a claim that farmer Tony Martin asked a friend to hide a second gun he secretly kept at his home on the night that he shot and killed young burglar Fred Barras.
July 31, 2003


LINKS
Farmer's fight for freedom
Vulnerable and paranoid
Refuge at Bleak House

The Tony Martin File