Tony Martin obituary: Farmer who sparked national debate when shooting burglar dead at 80

“Guns were second nature to him,” said his mother, Hilary Martin, in 2000. “He grew up on a farm where there were always guns. His father loved shooting and was a good shot.

“But Tony never really liked shooting. He didn’t really like the idea of killing.

“He didn’t like animals to be killed. When he got his own place, which is now a bit of a mess admittedly, he wanted it to be a bird sanctuary.”

After school, Martin did a variety of jobs, including working as a steward on liners, on oil rigs off Scotland and running a piggery at his parents’ farm. Inspired by an uncle, Martin also spent several years travelling.

He was living alone at his farmhouse, nicknamed Bleak House, when he caught Brendan Fearon, then 29, and Fred Barras, 16, inside on August 20 1999. He fired his shotgun three times towards the intruders, killing Barras.

The case provoked a national debate about the measures homeowners can take to defend their property.

He was initially found guilty of murder, but this was reduced to manslaughter on appeal. Martin spent a total of three years in prison. In 2003 he accepted an offer from Nottinghamshire burglar Fearon, whom he shot and wounded, to drop a claim for damages.

After his release, Martin received a standing ovation when he addressed the Ukip annual conference in 2003.

In 2013 Martin once again confronted a burglar at the property. He said he was visiting the shed when he saw a man attempting to steal car batteries.

“It isn’t the first time it’s happened since I’ve been out of prison – it’s happened two or three times,” he said. “I haven’t changed my views about what happened in 1999 but the whole experience has made me lose faith in the system and I didn’t want to be made out as the criminal again.”

Martin had suffered from depression in recent years and events since his conviction had highlighted the dangers that people living in rural areas can face.