To many, his elaborate network of traps and ladders were proof Tony Martin plotted to kill intruders.

But his supporters claim the Norfolk farmer who lived amid the isolated squalor of Bleak House was a man who feared for his life after suffering an earlier break in.

Whoever is correct, Martin's actions on that fateful night led to the death of a teenager and the threat of life behind bars for the eccentric loner who pulled the trigger.

What was perhaps not so easy to predict was the way the tragedy would also trigger a chain of events in which the farmer found himself being sued by a man he injured - over claims his sex life was ruined.

Fred Barras died after being shot in the back

Martin, 57, told jurors at his murder trial he had removed a staircase and placed ladders in nearby trees to serve as lookout posts.

The precautions did little good: in August 1999, three intruders with long criminal records broke in.

Only two of the intruders that night came out alive, and Martin was jailed for life for the murder of the third, 16-year-old Fred Barras.

Shotgun incident

Martin has said he genuinely believed he was acting in self defence when he fired upon Barras and a second thief with a pump-action shotgun.

But jurors heard that he had fired upon a car six years before - an incident which led to his shotgun certificate being revoked.

In the end, the jury decided that Tony Martin had taken the law into his own hands.

Martin's prosecution prompted a debate about householders' rights to defend their property by force.

Martin lived in a ramshackle farmhouse

He saw his conviction reduced to manslaughter and his sentence cut to five years after an appeal.

The court accepted new psychiatric evidence that Martin suffered from a paranoid personality disorder.

He tried but failed to challenge his conviction in the House of Lords in order to have all charges quashed.

The second thief, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was handed a three-year sentence for his role in the break-in.

Last year the man announced he was suing Martin for thousands of pounds in damages, claiming that injuries he suffered in the incident would stop him working again.

The writ claimed he can no longer tolerate fireworks or shootings in films and that the incident raised concerns about his "long-term sexual functioning."

Martin announced a counter-claim against the man in response - to claim damages for the fear he felt during the burglary.

Police have said there are concerns for Martin's safety should he be released - death threats made against him were revealed at his trial.

A supporter of the jailed farmer has said Martin would like eventually to return to his rural farmhouse.

His friend Malcolm Starr said Martin had considered leaving England because of fears for his safety but would prefer to return home.