A farmer who wrecked a car parked on his land with a tractor has been cleared of criminal damage after he successfully used the 400-year-old legal principle that “an Englishman’s home is his castle”.

Robert Hooper, 57, became an internet sensation in June last year, when a video of him using the spikes on his telehandler to flip a £16,000 Vauxhall Corsa went viral on social media.

The hill farmer from Upper Teesdale said he had been forced to take action after he came under attack from a “strutting and agitated” shirtless youth, who had refused to move the car from his land.

Mr Hooper said he did not call police because he had been burgled eight times and found they were often slow to respond.

He went on trial at Durham Crown Court after being charged with dangerous driving and criminal damage.

But he was acquitted of all charges after telling the jury: “An Englishman’s home is his castle and my castle starts at that front gate.”

Michael Rawlinson, his barrister, told the court that the origins of the phrase could be traced back to 1604, when Sir Edward Coke was the attorney general of England.

“This whole case is about an Englishman’s home being his castle and his right to lawful self-defence of himself and his property,” explained Mr Rawlinson.

In an early 17th century ruling, known as Semayne’s case, Sir Edward stated: “The house of every one is to him as his castle and fortress as well for defence against injury and violence, as for his repose.

“If theeves come to a man’s house to rob him, or murder, and the owner or his servants kill any of the theeves in defence of himself and his house, it is no felony, and he shall lose nothing.”

The case against Mr Hooper also became a town versus country debate, with the farmer and his neighbours railing against people who had used their isolated, rural community as a playground during lockdown.

The court heard how Elliott Johnson and Charlie Burn, his passenger, had parked the Vauxhall Corsa on Mr Hooper’s land when the vehicle suffered a double blow-out. They were making their way home to Tyneside after spending the day at Low Force waterfall with five friends.