A terrified householder grabbed a carving knife and fought a ‘fencing match’ with machete-wielding burglars, a court heard yesterday.
During the struggle, an intruder was stabbed and died from his injuries later.
Grandfather Peter Flanagan, 59, was arrested on suspicion of murder but prosecutors ruled he should face no charges because he had acted reasonably to defend himself.
The decision followed a pledge by David Cameron that homeowners who defend themselves against intruders should not be prosecuted provided they use ‘reasonable force’.
Mr Flanagan said yesterday that he felt ‘lucky to be alive’ and was still haunted by the memory of confronting the gang in his home in Salford last June.
The mechanic was on his own and had gone to bed at 11.45pm when he was woken by the sound of breaking glass and a ‘loud thud’ downstairs, prosecutor Nicoletta Amatino told Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court.
Mr Flanagan, who is partially deaf, went to investigate without putting in his hearing aid, and dressed only in his underwear.
He was confronted at the bottom of the stairs by a masked man waving a 12in machete and shouting: ‘Sit down and stay there.’
Another man in a ski mask barged past him and ran upstairs, and Mr Flanagan saw two others standing outside his smashed back door.
Miss Amatino told the court: ‘Mr Flanagan said he was terrified and in fear for his life so he picked up a carving knife in the kitchen.’
One of the burglars, former soldier Wesley Gibbons, swung the machete at Mr Flanagan, who countered the blow in what he described as a ‘fencing match’.
The foot-long machete flew into the air and was grabbed by another raider, John Bennell.
Mr Flanagan grappled with the burglar to try to disarm him as the struggle went into the living room, Miss Amatino said, adding: ‘In an attempt to defend himself, he jabbed John Bennell with the knife.’
Bennell, of Hyde, Manchester, dropped the machete only as he was chased outside, and CCTV showed all four burglars fleeing.
The injured Bennell collapsed after 300 yards, and the three others left him in the street, although one stopped to call for an ambulance.
Bennell, who was on police bail for a separate burglary, died in hospital.
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