HOUSEHOLDERS will not face prosecution for attacking or even killing a burglar providing they use only "reasonable force", new guidelines said today.

Police and prosecutors published a new leaflet advising the public how far they can go to defend their property.

Even using items as weapons would not lead to prosecution if householders were doing what they "honestly and instinctively" believed was necessary "in the heat of the moment", it said.

Today's leaflet from the Crown Prosecution Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers attempted to clear up confusion over the point at which defending one's family and property becomes a crime.

Det Sgt Ady Wys, who heads Swindon police's anti-burglar unit, said the current law is sound.

"In reality, a lot of burglary victims are not in a position to offer resistance," he said.

"The sad fact is that burglars tend to prey on the weak and vulnerable.

"I don't think the law is confusing. Householders should use the minimum amount of force necessary to detain offenders. But it must be proportionate."

"I would add that less than five per cent of burglaries take place when the householder is home."

The document, which will be distributed through Citizens' Advice Bureaux and police forces in England and Wales, said: "You are not expected to make fine judgments over the level of force you use in the heat of the moment."

It warned that you could still face the courts for using "excessive and gratuitous force" if, for example, you knocked someone unconscious but continued to attack them or if you set a trap to hurt or kill intruders rather than involving the police.

If burglars run off with your property, you can still use force to recover it, said the leaflet, adding: "A rugby tackle or a single blow would probably be reasonable."

Ref. 73905-108'I will protect my business and home'

THIEVES have targeted Mathieu Monet's plant hire business six times in the past three years, stealing thousands of pounds worth of equipment.

The final straw came when they used a blow torch to cut open security gates at Fast Plant Hire on Elgin Industrial Estate, stealing five trailers worth £6,000 in September.

Now the father-of-two has scrapped the trailer side of the firm.

The stocky 31-year-old said had he caught the thieves, he would have used whatever force he could. "We should be able to use whatever means we want to defend our homes or our livelihoods," he said.

"If I had caught them I would have grabbed the heaviest thing I could find and thrown it at them or driven my car at them.

"The cost of being burgled can be devastating. I know, I had to change my business.

"They had no right being on my property and should be prepared to take the consequences."

Tamash Lal