A father-of-six has been cleared of attacking the arsonist who drove a Land Rover into his home. John Henry Sayers and his son, John Henry Sayers Junior, were found not guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to William Patterson, who drove the vehicle into the family's Newcastle home and attempted to set it alight in February last year.
The father and son had been on remand since the incident, with Sayers senior held in some of the country's highest security prisons, including HMP Frankland and HMP Belmarsh. In an exclusive interview with ChronicleLive, Sayers expressed relief at being home and determination to protect his family.
Relief and Determination
“It will never be over, but how can you give in. I'm just going to get on with life. They are not going to detract from what we have got to do as a family. It's onwards and upwards now. It's beautiful to be home. I love this city,” the 62-year-old said. “We don't worry about it, we just live our life, if they attack us we will defend ourselves within the law.”
Jurors at the Old Bailey in London heard that the Sayers family had been repeatedly attacked by the Freeman organised crime group for three years before the incident involving Patterson. Sayers told ChronicleLive that he initially told police he would not retaliate and would let them handle it. “The police implored us to let them deal with it. So I said; 'you go on then, that's your job'. We just sat back. It is hard not to retaliate. You are between a rock and a hard place,” he said.
Osman Warning and the Attack
The court also heard that Sayers had received an Osman warning—a formal police notification that someone's life is in danger. Sayers said he was unfazed by the threats: “I have had that many Osman warnings they mean nothing to us. We have all got to die one day.”
In February last year, Sayers said he was forced to fight back after his home was targeted again while his young teenage daughter Ava was inside. He felt a bang as a Range Rover was reversed into Lou's Diner, beneath his flat. Sayers picked up a machete and went outside, followed by his 29-year-old son, who grabbed a metal pole. They saw Patterson torching the Range Rover, which contained fuel and burst into flames. CCTV showed Sayers swinging his machete twice before entering the burning vehicle to move it away from the property, suffering burns. His son hit Patterson with the pole. When police arrived, Sayers, still holding the machete, was tasered and arrested.
Self-Defense and Family
Sayers said he acted instinctively: “I was just upstairs sorting Ava's school uniform, then I felt a bang and I knew straight away what it was so we just started running downstairs. I didn't even know I had picked the machete up. I just thought; 'I have got to go outside, I need something to protect myself with.' We retaliated in self-defence. I don't know what made me do it, I just knew that had to be done. Ava is there and that had to be done. Most parents would do the same. I couldn't not react. I had to save the children who were upstairs.”
Sayers has spent long periods of his life behind bars. In 1990, he was sentenced to 15 years for masterminding a violent £350,000 wages robbery at Pritchard's security firm in Gateshead. In 2002, he was cleared of the murder of Freddie Knights. He was later acquitted of conspiracy to murder in a drive-by shooting at Newcastle's Tup Tup Palace nightclub but convicted of perverting the course of justice and jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Trial and Acquittal
During his remand, Sayers worried constantly about his family. “Every minute of every day I was worried about my family outside. You feel powerless when you are on remand. That's 18 months of my life gone. You don't get that back,” he said.
After about four hours of deliberations, jurors at the Old Bailey unanimously found Sayers and his son not guilty of causing GBH with intent and the lesser alternative of causing GBH. Sayers said he always believed he would be cleared: “I never thought I would be convicted. I know this country is a bit woke, but there's a lot more sensible people than there are woke people, thank the Lord. We are so grateful to the London jurors for actually seeing common sense. Yes I hit him, but I only hit him to stop him doing what he was doing and so did John. We didn't want to cause him harm.”
Sayers said he and his son are now focused on rebuilding their lives in Newcastle and resurrecting their businesses damaged in the attacks. “My kids are different to me. I grew up in a different era. My outlook on life is different to theirs. I have made sure they have stayed out of trouble. They just get on with it,” he added.
Patterson, who was not a witness in the trial, later pleaded guilty, along with others, to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered and was jailed.
