Burglar shot dead by mistake.

Ten years ago, a Northumbria Police marksman shot dead a burglar he mistakenly thought was armed.

The controversy surrounding the incident dogged the force for years.

James Brady, 21, was one of four men who broke into the Westerhope Excelsior Club, in Newcastle, in the early hours of April 24, 1995. Police were tipped off and five armed officers lay in wait.

After the gang broke in, officers ordered them to surrender but some dived through a window and escaped.

Brady, of Fielding Court, Newbiggin Hall, Newcastle, was shot dead as he turned to face the officers with a torch in his hand.

The Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the evidence three times and, in December 1999, finally decided not to charge the PC ( who had won a court order to keep his identity a secret ( or any of his colleagues over the death.

The CPS agreed to re-examine the evidence after an inquest into Brady's death in September 1998.

The 14-day hearing at Newcastle Crown Court saw jurors return an open verdict ( rejecting one of lawful killing.

During inquest evidence it emerged two of the armed officers involved were suing Northumbria Police for stress, claiming Brady should not have been shot when his torch was mistaken for a pistol. They later dropped the claim.

Northumbria Police apologised to Brady's parents, Ken and Brenda Brady, of Cheviot View, Prudhoe, Northumberland, over their son's death.