You can be arrested for self-defense in Britain

A householder was arrested yesterday after he shot two suspected burglars in a midnight break-in at his home.  The 35-year-old – believed to be a farm worker – fired a shotgun at a gang of suspected burglars who broke into his isolated cottage in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.

The man and his wife, 43, were understood to have called police immediately after the shooting, at 12.26am.   He told officers he had fired his shotgun, which is licensed and legally held, and the intruders fled.

Minutes later, ambulance paramedics were called to treat a man with shotgun injuries. The 999 call was understood to have been made by one of the suspected burglars.  A second man was treated for shotgun injuries after he walked into Leicester Royal Infirmary, around ten miles from the cottage.  Neither of the men’s injuries were said to be serious.

The householder and his wife were arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.  He is thought to be a farm worker who kept the shotgun legally as part of his job.

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