THE man who shot dead a planning officer preparing to demolish his illegal bungalow has expressed sorrow for his crime in a letter to The Northern Echo.

Albert Dryden, 71, is serving a life sentence for the murder of Harry Collinson at Butsfield, near Consett, County Durham, on June 20, 1991.

In the wake of media coverage of the 20th anniversary of the first British murder filmed as it happened by a BBC TV crew, Dryden has written to The Northern Echo.

Much of the three-page, hand-written letter focuses on the planning details behind Dryden’s wrangle with Derwentside District Council, which culminated in the murder of the divorced father-oftwo, who was the council’s principal planning officer.

Dryden says Mr Collinson was determined to “have me off my land and put me in jail if he could. He was greatfully (sic) influenced by people higher up”.

But after a detailed and often rambling account of the planning background to Dryden’s case, he concludes: “At the same time, I am deeply sorry for what I did over 20 years ago.’’ The letter carries Dryden’s prisoner number, but does not give an address, although he is believed to be in Acklington Prison, in Northumberland.

Despite expressing remorse for the murder, Dryden maintains he had done nothing wrong from a planning perspective in the lead-up to the incident.

He says: “The day they came I had 25 chickens and 2 cockrels (sic) and 4 gees (sic) and 3 goats in the summer house and there was 2 swallows’ nests andblackbird’s nest in and all had four little chicks in each nest and a barn owl had been roosting in the summer house from two and a half years and it was in the day the came up to knock down the summerhouse and my big greenhouse which... did not need planning permation (sic) because it was under 90 feet.”

Dryden is understood to be due a parole hearing in October, and doubt was cast last night about whether he was genuinely sorry.

Alex Watson, the former leader of the now-defunct council, said it might be a ploy to boost Dryden’s chances of finally winning his freedom.

He said: “Albie has always said that he was sorry. It is whether he means it or not.

“The ultimate assessment has always been ‘is he just saying it so he can get parole’.

They feel it is not sincere enough. He should have a psychiatrist test him to see if he is being sincere.

“I still say he should have been sectioned before he killed anybody.”

Mr Watson said he did not believe that Mr Collinson would have threatened Dryden with jail.

Mr Collinson’s brother, Roy, who has said Dryden should stay locked up for life, could not be contacted for comment.

A Parole Board spokesman said he could not comment on individual cases.

However, he said lifers who had exceeded their sentence tariff were reviewed for parole every two years, and added: “Essentially we carry out the life and limb test to see if there is a risk of the offender causing harm to the community.

“Accepting guilt and expressing remorse is part of that, but it is not necessarily essential to win parole.

“We are looking at whether he will pose a risk of committing another offence if he is released.’’ Dryden, a former steelworker, built his bungalow in a hollow because he wrongly thought he would not need planning permission, which Derwentside District Council refused to give.

A Government inspector upheld the decision after Dryden appealed against it and the council eventually decided to enforce the ruling by demolition.

Dryden shot Mr Collinson twice in the heart and head.

He also wounded a police officer and a BBC TV reporter as he fired into people fleeing the scene.

Police later found that he had a huge, illegal arsenal.

Dryden, who denied murder but was convicted in 1992, lost an appeal against conviction two years later, but was reported to be planning a new appeal three years ago.