Adrian Frost, a 61-year-old man running a cannabis farm at his home in Hemsworth, West Yorkshire, has been found guilty of murdering an intruder who broke in to steal his drugs. Frost used an illegally held sawn-off shotgun to shoot dead 26-year-old Connor Batty during a burglary at his property on Barnsley Road in September, and he is due to be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Monday. The case is notable because, although Batty was carrying an imitation firearm and taking part in an aggravated burglary, police said Frost's response amounted to a "grossly disproportionate" use of force.

According to police, Batty and two other men initially fled from Frost's Rottweilers on the evening of 11 September before returning and making demands, at which point Frost locked himself inside, went upstairs and loaded a shotgun kept beside his bed. When Batty kicked down the back door and entered the hallway, Frost shot him in the chest from the top of the stairs; Batty stumbled outside and collapsed, while his accomplices fled. Frost later messaged his brother a photo of Batty and was recorded on CCTV laughing and saying "do you want an aspirin mate". Searches uncovered a sophisticated cannabis set-up, £147,000 in silver bullion, and further weapons, and Frost admitted several other offences. His accomplices were sentenced earlier: Lewis Bromley received four years and six months, Dylan Kelly four years and four months, and Connor Turner three years.