Broons Justice -shackle heroes!

Why our dad won't back down, by family of the 76-year-old council tax rebel shackled and humiliated by the courts

Eight hours in a holding cell, an hour and a half handcuffed to a guard in a security van and a lengthy wait in a police station custody unit for a prison space.

Then, at 9.30pm, Richard Fitzmaurice, a 76-year-old Army veteran of the Suez Crisis, was allowed one phone call to his family.

Bedraggled and bewildered, he told his son: "I'm okay. Don't worry about me."

His crime, as the Mail revealed yesterday, was non-payment of council tax.

For that, Mr Fitzmaurice, who has seen the bill on his Band D property soar hugely over the years, could spend the next 34 days behind bars.

His family say they do not plan to pay the outstanding £1,359 (plus £209 costs).