I was working the weekend and we got sent on this routine assignment. Fed up with the constant vandal attacks on his property one resident had built a 10ft fence around his home on Walney Island in Barrow-in-Furness.

The scale of the vandalism was shocking – incidents on a nightly basis over a six month period with damage estimated at almost £600 and a total of 67 panes of glass smashed in his greenhouse, three car windows two kitchen windows and a living room window all broken.

However he had received a letter from the Barrow Council’s planning chiefs saying the scale of the fence was “wholly inappropriate” for the area and he must take it down.

He was adamant that it would stay put and when we turned up I remember it was pouring with rain and the resulting imaged looked quite bleak which I feel added to the story. I was always pleased with how this image turned out and it shows the advantage of carrying a 20mm f2.8 lens in your camera bag.

The story was picked up by the Sunday Sun, which is based in Newcastle, and I was asked to revisit Mr Stephenson. The weather was better and I think that suited the colour shots that I was shooting the pics with – unlike the North West Evening Mail, which was still printed in black and white, the north east paper actually had colour presses.

I think the image with the arms folded, rather than the one used in the Sunday Sun with his arms by his side, made him look more defiant.

I was quite pleased with the results of the shoot. I don’t think the recreation of the original shot quite matched up but it still worked. But I do think the smashed car window graphically highlighted what he had to deal with.

I am not entirely sure why he was targeted but, at the end of the day, no one should be subjected to such victimisation and unfortunately it still continues to this day.

And I was victim to the byline bandit because I am not sure why the main images were credited to the staff photographer.

Coincidentally I had two job interviews at the Sunday Sun with the first in 1994. I was offered the job, however, it was just a temporary contract and I was advised that it might not be a good idea to give up a full time staff job as it was only for a few months.

And the second was in 1996 for a permanent post. Again I was offered the job but I had a second offer from a north east news agency and, with the prospect of publication in the nationals, I again refused. Having said that, with the benefit of hindsight, it might have been better to stay with the local press.

From the North West Evening Mail on Monday, November 13, 1995 and the Sunday Sun on Sunday, November 26, 1995.