SALFORD, England, July 22 (UPI) -- An Englishman who stabbed and killed an intruder in his home will not be charged, prosecutors said Friday.
Peter Flanagan, 59, was arrested on suspicion of murder for killing John Bennell, 27, who broke into his home in Salford, near Manchester, June 22, police said. Flanagan's son Neil, 27, and his 21-year-old girlfriend were also arrested but later freed without charge.
Nazir Afzal, chief prosecutor in the northwest for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "I am satisfied that Peter Flanagan acted in self-defense after being woken by noises downstairs in his house shortly before midnight. On investigating the disturbance he was confronted by intruders, one of whom was armed with a machete. … Mr. Flanagan did what he honestly and instinctively believed was necessary to protect himself and his home."
Greater Manchester Police accepted the decision, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Bennell's alleged accomplices, Martin Jamieson, 27, and Wesley Gibbons, 23, have been charged with aggravated burglary. Christopher Troy, 23, is charged with aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.
