murder of Harry Collinson

The murder of Henry ('Harry') Collinson, the planning officer for Derwentside District Council, occurred on 20 June 1991 at Butsfield, County Durham, England. At the time of the murder, Derwentside District Council was involved in a dispute with Albert Dryden, a local landowner, over the erection of a dwelling on his rural property without planning permission. At approximately 09:00 on 20 June, as television news crews filmed, Dryden aimed a handgun—a .455 Webley Mk VI revolver—at Collinson and shot him dead. As the journalists and council staff fled, Dryden opened fire again, wounding BBC television reporter Tony Belmont and Police Constable Stephen Campbell. A standoff situation followed as armed police officers—who had been on stand-by for the incident at nearby Consett—raced to the scene and Dryden retreated to a caravan on his property. Dryden warned them that the buildings were booby trapped with explosives, that he had planted land mines in the ground around the property and had a cache of hand grenades inside the caravan. At approximately 11:20, police negotiators offered to install a field telephone to enable them to better communicate with him. Dryden came out of the caravan to the perimeter fence to watch them and, realising that his holster was empty, tactical firearms officer Sgt John Taylor immediately wrestled him to the ground. Assisted by PCs Chris Barber, Andy Reay and Philip Brown, Taylor was able to subdue Dryden and he was taken into police custody. Dryden was tried at Newcastle upon Tyne during March–April 1992. Found guilty of Collinson's murder, the attempted murder of council solicitor Michael Dunston—whom he had apparently been aiming for when he shot at the group—and the wounding of Belmont and Campbell, Dryden was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment and two terms of seven years' imprisonment, to run concurrently. Dryden's appeal against the conviction was dismissed, and his applications for parole were refused as he showed no…