Family's verdict shock (From Stroud News and Journal)

Family's verdict shock

A STROUD family who have waited more than 12 years for justice were left reeling this week when a judge delivered a shock judgement - but they have vowed not to give up.

The judgement delivered by Mr Justice Martin Moore-Bick at Bristol High Court on Friday followed the end of a 10-day trial into the killing of Tony Alliss in Penn Wood, near King's Stanley in July 1990.

But before the judge had finished his conclusion which found that the case had failed, the Alliss family left the court in disgust.

"We've been kicked in the teeth," Leigh told the Stroud News & Journal on Monday. "It is unbelievable. We rely on the law to protect us and they haven't. British justice makes you sick."

Father of three Tony died after his neighbour's son, 19-year-old Graig Maule, fired both barrels of a 12-bore shotgun at a range of just 9 feet. Tony's son, 14-year-old Leigh, heard the shot and was later himself injured by pellets when Graig Maule fired the gun again.

The incident was the culmination of a 10-year long dispute between the neighbours over ownership of a stretch of land at Penn Wood and made headline news across the nation.

In June 1991 Graig Maule and his father Terence were tried for murder at Bristol Crown Court and were acquitted on the direction of the judge at the close of the prosecution case.

Because the trial was stopped early, neither Terence nor Graig Maule gave evidence and the Alliss family felt cheated of justice.

Ten years later Leigh Alliss, now 27, brought a civil action against the Maules, alleging that they had deliberately set out to kill his father on the night of July 26, 1990.

The case was finally brought before the courts in October this year and the judgement delivered on Friday. While Justice Moore-Bick praised Leigh for the way in which he gave his evidence, describing him as "a transparently honest witness," he said he believed that Tony Alliss had struggled with Terence Maule in the wood and that Graig Maule had fired the gun to protect his father.

The principles of self defence applied equally in a case where the defendant had used force in defence of another person, the judge said.

Tony's widow, Joyce Alliss, and his brother have spoken out about the verdict in this week's Stroud News and Journal.