Family in fear defy judge

A wealthy international lawyer and his wife, whose family have been attacked four times, vowed today to defy a judge who ordered them to demolish security gates they built to protect themselves and their home.

Hamid Sabi and his wife Meira said they would tie themselves to the £20,000 electronically-controlled gates if necessary to stop them being taken down.

Mrs Sabi, 46, said: "Before those gates we lived in fear. We can't live like that.

"It is extremely frightening for me and the children. We had to do something and will fight on. We will even tie ourselves to the gates if we have to but we won't pull them down.

"My friend and neighbour had a knife held to her throat. I don't want that to happen to me."

The Sabis and their three children live in Winnington Road, Hampstead Garden Suburb, one of the most affluent streets in the country, whose residents include the sister of the Sultan of Brunei.

Recently, there have been a spate of attacks and robberies, which led to an angry meeting of millionaire residents to decide how to protect themselves.

But the Sabis had already had enough and put up the 1.85-metre gates 18 months ago, after four separate attacks.

Mr Sabi's sister Farideh was thrown back into her car by a robber after she had just pulled into the drive. He held her down and forcibly removed her watch, diamond ring and wedding ring.

In January 1997, Mrs Sabi was attacked as she was unlocking the front door, having returned from school with her then four-year-old son Ramin. As the boy screamed, one mugger dragged Mrs Sabi away and threatened her while the other thug tried to steal the jewellery she was wearing.

The men escaped with a gold Cartier watch and left her with bruises to her wrist and a damaged finger after failed attempts to steal bracelets and rings.

The family, which also includes daughters Sharis, 21, and 16-year-old Tara, then installed the gates at the home they have lived in for nine years. But have fought a running battle with the London borough of Barnet ever since, because they did not get planning permission.

Yesterday High Court judge Mr Justice Forbes backed a government planning inspector's decision which effectively placed the desire to preserve the appearance of the area over the right of Mr Sabi, 54, to protect his family home from crime. He ruled that the planning inspector had correctly followed planning procedure in refusing to grant planning permission for the gates.

Speaking outside his sixbedroomed home with his arm around his wife, Mr Sabi hit out at British justice, calling it " blinkered".

He said: "I cannot believe that the judge has not decided in my favour. The system is stacked against us. It is every citizen's duty to protect his home and family and that was what I was doing when I installed the gates.

"The gates have stopped us from being sitting ducks. We have to look out for ourselves because the police can't. There are just not enough of them to deal with the crime rate around here. It's horrendous."

Since the steel gates were installed 18 months ago, the family have been free from crime on their property, while the rest of the neighbourhood has continued to suffer.

Mr Sabi said he was aware of at least 10 aggravated burglaries over the last year, after which several of his neighbours had to be treated in hospital.

Barnet council wants the gates demolished by August, but Mr Sabi says he now intends to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Neighbour Mr Edward Cohen, 76, said: "The decision is ridiculous. The poor woman has been attacked, so why shouldn't they try to protect themselves? The crime around here just keeps on increasing."