Albert Dryden death: Man who shot dead council official live on TV dies aged 77

Albert Dryden spent 26 years in prison for the murder of Harry Collinson

A landowner who shot dead a planning officer on live TV in a dispute over his illegally-built bungalow has died a year after being released from prison.

Albert Dryden pulled out a First World War revolver and fired at Harry Collinson as bulldozers prepared to demolish the building in Butsfield, County Durham, on 20 June 1991.

The murder was captured by a BBC camera crew and press photographers covering the operation by Derwentside District Council.

Footage shows Mr Collinson, a 46-year-old divorced father of two, telling the cameraman to get a shot of Dryden’s gun, a Webley Mk VI.

Dryden then shot him in the chest before climbing over the fence around his property and firing further shots at the mortally wounded planning officer and the fleeing crowd of council officials, police and journalists.

During the trial at Newcastle Crown Court in April 1992, the former steelworker claimed he was mentally unwell and not responsible for his actions.

He was convicted of the murder of Mr Collinson, the attempted murder of council solicitor Michael Dunstan and the wounding of PC Stephen Campbell and TV journalist Tony Belmont with intent.

Dryden was jailed for life and spent 26 years in prison before being released from prison in October after suffering a stroke. He died in a County Durham care home on Saturday morning, aged 77.

The news of his death was welcomed by Mr Collinson’s older brother Roy, who told the Northern Echo: “I cannot say I am sorry, because I am not sorry. I am bloody pleased.”

Mr Collinson said he had received four letters written by the killer from his prison cell.

“Not once did he show any remorse, culpability, or regret for what he had done,” he said.

“He looked to blame everyone but himself. At one stage he even tried to blame the vehicles that were going to knock down his house, claiming they were not taxed or something ridiculous like that.

“I get so annoyed when people try to rewrite history, and look at things from a different angle. No excuses can be made for what Albert Dryden did.”

Dryden’s lifelong friend Alex Watson, the leader of Derwentside District Council at the time of the shooting, said he believed the killer felt remorse about the shooting.

He said: “You cannot excuse him for what he did, but he was a proud man and all he wanted was to build his house and live in the countryside on his own and not harm anybody.

“It was not planned, but the way he saw it, he was defending his castle.”

Mr Watson said that Dryden could no longer talk as a result of suffering a series of strokes.

“He had no quality of life, it was awful to see him in such a state,” he said. “Harry had lost his life and the children lost their father, but Albert lost his life as well. He had a burden to carry.

“If I had been there I could have stopped it. People’s lives were shattered.”

Additional reporting by Press Association