In his recent letter GR Bray asks whether a householder confronted by a burglar should obtain information about the thickness of the burglar's skull before hitting the burglar?

On the same day Harold Burge asked precisely what Julia Drown MP would do if a violent thug broke into her home and threatened violence?

Both of the questions posed by your correspondents are simply answered if one looks at the law on self-defence which states that a person who is attacked or believes that he or she or somebody else is about to be attacked may use such force as is reasonably necessary to defend himself, herself or another person.

The key questions are therefore whether the person purportedly acting in self-defence believed it was necessary to defend himself, herself or another person and if they did, was the amount of force used reasonable, taking into account the circumstances and the danger as the person purportedly acting in self-defence honestly believed them to be at the relevant time?

Reasonable force can also be used in defence of property although it is less easy to justify in those circumstances.

It should not be forgotten that the unfortunate Norfolk farmer, Tony Martin, was found not to have been acting in self-defence when he shot dead a burglar, not by a judge, magistrate, lawyer or human rights activist but by a jury of his peers who presumably reached their decision only after a painstaking consideration of the evidence.

A Hobson

Solicitor

Bishop Longbotham and Bagnall

Swindon