Albert Dryden

Albert Dryden (born 12 May 1940)[1] is a convicted murderer from North East England. On 20 June 1991, he killed a council planning officer.[2]

Dryden had built a bungalow without planning permission in the village of Butsfield, close to Consett in County Durham. Following a protracted dispute with Derwentside District Council, an enforcement order was to be served on 20 June 1991, with diggers on standby to demolish the house.[2]

During negotiations in front of a range of television and newspaper reporters, Dryden shot dead the council's chief planning officer, Harry Collinson (aged 46). He then opened fire, with Stephen Campbell, a police officer, wounded in the buttock and BBC Look North reporter Tony Belmont hit in the arm, while Council solictor Mike Newell was shot at but not injured. The fatal scene was captured on camera and transmitted on the BBC's local evening bulletin Look North.

The footage shows Collinson asking the camera crew to take a shot of Dryden's gun. The camera pans to Dryden, who fires the gun at Collinson (now off screen). As everyone (including crew) disperses, Dryden shot and wounded the police officer and the reporter.[3][4] A fuller version of the footage, including a prior visit and the aftermath of the shooting, now forms part of the BBC's filming safety internal training course.

As of 2008, Dryden has had four parole applications rejected. He appealed against his sentence on grounds of provocation.[5]

In 2011, a plaque commemorating the victim was moved, and Dryden, 71, still remains in a prison in Cumbria.

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Death on a Summer's Day
  2. 1 2 "Further parole delay for gun killer". BBC News. 12 December 2003.
  3. ↑ "The planning row that led to Albert Dryden shooting dead Harry Collinson". BBC News. 19 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "The aftermath of Derwentside Albert Dryden planning row shooting". BBC News. 19 June 2011.
  5. ↑ Green, Nigel (21 July 2008). "Killer bids for freedom, saying he was provoked". The Northern Echo.
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