The House in the Hole

There come moments in history when a crime seems to encapsulate all that is wrong in the world for a certain group of people at a particular moment in time. Morality turns upside down, the truth is distorted in favour of an intoxicating story, and the people involved are cast by spectators into roles in a play of our own making.

On the 20th June in County Durham, 1991, a routine planning enforcement order turned into a deadly act of violence which was broadcast around the world. Albert Dryden, a local landowner, had excavated a hole on his property and built a ramshackle dwelling inside in an attempt to circumvent planning rules. The day the building was scheduled for legal demolition by the council, Dryden went on a murderous rampage, killing the council’s chief planning officer and seriously wounding a police officer and journalist. While the majority of people condemned his crimes, a vocal minority came to see him as a folk hero; songs were written about him and over 3,000 people signed a petition demanding an inquiry into how the local council had treated him. To some, Dryden was seen as the little man who finally fought back against the system.

Speaking with former Durham police detective Arthur Proud, BBC Look North staff Chris Stewart and council leader Alex Watson, Joe Zadeh asks how Dryden attracted a groundswell of support in his local community, and how violent criminals in rare circumstances come to be seen as folk heroes.

Written and presented by Joe Zadeh.
Producer: Hunter Charlton
Mixing Engineer: Alex Portfelix
Composer: Jessie Howard
Executive Producer: Ant Adeane

An Ember production for BBC Radio 4.