A fundraising drive has opened to pay the legal fees of an elderly farmer cleared of GBH after shooting an intruder in the foot.
Kenneth Hugill wept with relief after a jury at Hull Crown Court took just 24 minutes to clear him of grievous bodily harm on Friday.
And now lawyer Nick Freeman wants to help Hugill pay his £30,000 legal fees after the 16-month wrangle.
Mr Freeman felt so strongly about the case that he set up a crowdfunding page.
Writing on the page he created, Mr Freeman branded "the current legal system is a disgrace" adding that the outcome was "not justice" and that the farmer "should never have been prosecuted".
He said: "In my view he should never have been prosecuted because the evidence I read in the media never supported the contention that there was more than a 50% chance of conviction...
"I'm sure there are plenty of people who felt as equally incensed as I did after reading about the case, and will be happy to spare a few pounds in helping this hard-working family in their hour of financial need."
The farmer, who is a father-of-three, used a double-barrel shotgun to shoot Richard Stables, 44, as he walked out to challenge him in pitch darkness outside his farmhouse in Wilberfoss, near York.
Mr Hugill ‘accepts he fired a shotgun’ and that the injuries were caused by him.
