A MAN who wired his car up to the mains to shock vandals insisted last night that he has no regrets and would do it again if forced to protect his property.

Peter Bayles - a staunch supporter of Tony Martin, the farmer who was imprisoned for killing a 16-year-old burglar after shooting him in the back at his home - avoided a jail term when he appeared in court.

The 28-year-old was given 80 hours' community punishment and 12 months' community rehabilitation.

Mr Bayles, from New Row, Eldon, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, who has had four vehicles damaged in two months, said: "The cars were kept on private land, these people came into my back yard.

"I have worked hard to buy these cars, but they think they can come in and damage them.

"I wanted to make them realise that they can't go around damaging property all the time that doesn't belong to them. I was just getting that sick of it.

"I don't regret what I have done and I would do it again if I had to protect my property."

For two months, the vandals had wrecked the cars that Mr Bayles bought to use for work.

They smashed windscreens, headlights, bumpers and stole the number plates.

On December 13, he resorted to electrifying the £1,800 Mondeo as it stood at the back of his terraced house, and he installed a circuit breaker to give the vandals a short, sharp shock.

Mr Bayles, a qualified electrician, who works in Darlington, attached a pair of mole grips onto the tow bar of the Mondeo and connected them to the mains.

He then put the connection on a time switch to "go live" between 10pm and 6am.

The first Mr Bayles knew of his imminent arrest was when a neighbour telephoned him to say that police and electricians had surrounded his house.

At the time, he was working in Edinburgh, and was arrested by police on his return.

He said: "I didn't think what I had done was that serious.

"They said I could have killed a child but how many children are out at that time?"

"I know what I am doing, I put a safety device on it so it would just give a small shock and then trip off."

Mr Bayles said that he had had unwavering support from his father, who agrees with the action his son has taken to combat the vandals.

He said: "My father has worked hard all his life and he believes in protecting your property. I think Tony Martin should have got away with what he did.

"It's like someone coming along and taking away your prize possession that you have worked for.

"How else can I protect my property? The police are too easy on vandals."

Although police said every driver who has had their car vandalised would probably sympathise, Mr Bayles was charged with booby-trapping the engine with intent to destroy human life or to inflict grievous bodily harm.

During his case at Teesside Crown Court on Friday, Mr Bayles' barrister, Tom Mitchell, said: "He has done something that anybody who has ever had a car vandalised or broken into would dream of doing.

"The difference is that he made the dream a reality, and what he has done is wrong.

"If you wire up your car to the mains, somebody is going to get a jolt."

He added: "If it had been somebody with a weak heart or a child, he might find himself looking down the barrel of a much more serious charge.