Linda Walker will never forget the day her previously ordinary life ended.

The former special needs teacher had never been particularly superstitious, but when she looks back to the events of Friday, August 13, 2005 she can't help but think the gods were against her.

After what she claimed was an ongoing campaign of terror against her family by a group of local youths, Linda snapped.

The breaking point was not particularly momentous – the contents of the watering can she'd left outside her home in Urmston, Greater Manchester, had been poured over her son's car and the can placed on the roof , but it was enough to make her see red.

What happened next is well-documented. Arming herself with the air rifle her son had been given as Christmas present a couple of years earlier, together with the pistol her partner John had bought to scare off squirrels, she set out to teach the youths she believed were responsible
a lesson.

She'd already alerted the police to her plans, but after firing six rounds near the group of teenagers, Linda was found guilty of affray and possessing firearms and sentenced to six months in prison.

The court case became a political hot potato and Linda, who spent a spell of her teaching career as head of food technology at Bingley Grammar School, quickly became cast as the ordinary working woman paying an unfair price for trying to protect her family.

After 36 days behind bars, Linda secured early release, but buoyed by the many messages of support, she has now vowed to continue her fight on behalf of those she believes are wrongly imprisoned, or who feel their communities have passed into the control of petty criminals.

"I'm not bitter about what happened to me," says the 51-year-old. "But if I could turn back time I would do things differently. At the time, my job at a special needs school was becoming increasingly stressful, I was worried about my family's safety and I allowed all these things to bubble under.

"When I look back I don't think it's any surprise that I did what I did. Perhaps the only surprise is that it didn't happen sooner. There were times when I felt really desperate, but knowing the public were on my side made a massive difference. Without that I'm not sure I would have coped."

Linda has just finished a book on life after prison called Yobs on the Doorstep, which is officially launched today, and she hopes it will further raise awareness of the problems ordinary families face.

She talks of the likes of Gary Newlove, murdered by three teenagers he'd dare to confront about vandalism to his wife's car, and Phil Carroll, the father-of-four left brain damaged after an attack by a gang outside his own home, as evidence of a social timebomb waiting to explode.

"Where I live is not a bad area, but these kind of problems are everywhere," she says. "It doesn't take much for a few incidents to spiral out of control. We have already seen the terrible consequences of what happens when an ordinary decent person tries to stand up to these yobs.

"Society has disintegrated, but it's up to all of us to make a difference. We can't just stand back and let the situation get even worse."

The kneejerk reaction to stories of out-of-control youths is often to call for more stringent sentencing, but her own time behind bars proved to Linda that prison isn't always the answer.

"From what I've seen there are a lot of people in prison who shouldn't be there," she says. "I'm not just talking about myself, but young mothers who should be helped to sort their lives out and others who have fallen through the net of a system which is supposed to help them.

"Very occasionally I see one of the youths who were there that day. I don't feel any ill-will towards him. I think they thought it was just a bit of fun, they never expected I would end up in prison and all I hope is that they do something useful with their lives."

Determined to tell her story, Linda decided not to return to full-time work but instead to concentrate on the book, which is available to buy on a website of the same name. However, three times a week she runs night classes in cookery and admits her priorities have definitely shifted since she found herself on the wrong side of the law.

"It taught me that you have to look after yourself," she says. "If I'd known what I do know I would have installed security cameras, and I would have made sure we had evidence to take to the police. It's also made me realise that it doesn't matter how big your house is or what car you drive, if you spend every waking moment stressed-out.

"Writing the book allowed me to work through what had happened, and I hope it will help other people who are wondering which way to turn."