Tony Martin - a farmer who shot dead a teenage burglar at his home - has died, a family friend has said. Mr Martin sparked a national debate after he shot and killed 16-year-old Fred Barras on his remote Norfolk farm in 1999.

Convicted killer Tony Martin, who shot dead a teenage intruder in his home in 1999, has died at the age of 80, a family friend has said.

Martin served three years in prison after shooting Fred Barras, 16, at his home in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk, in 1999.

He fired his shotgun three times towards the intruders, killing Barras and was initially found guilty of murder, before this was reduced to manslaughter on appeal. Mr Martin spent a total of three years in prison and after suffering a stroke in December last year,

Tony Martin, who has died aged 80, was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for the murder of a teenage criminal he caught burgling his house; the case became a cause célèbre, touching a raw nerve among Britain’s homeowners and revealing a huge gulf between public opinion and the priorities of Britain’s criminal justice system.

Who was the eccentric farmer convicted of killing burglar at his home - Tony Martin was jailed after shooting dead Fred Barras, 16, at his Bleak House farm in 1999

The farmer was jailed for murder for the killing of Fred Barras before the conviction was reduced to manslaughter

A farmer who shot dead a teenage intruder and was found guilty of murder “never recovered” from the impact of the killing, a close friend has said.

Tony Martin, 80, was jailed in 2000 for the killing of 16-year-old Fred Barras and wounding of 29-year-old Brendan Fearon with a shotgun.

Tony Martin was initially found guilty of murdering Fred Barras, 16, who was killed after breaking into the farmer's home in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk, in 1999