THE family of an Urmston teacher jailed for firing an air-gun near a yob outside her home say they had been plagued by thugs for two years.

Linda Walker, who used the pellet gun after youths launched a campaign of vandalism against her family, was jailed for three months yesterday at Manchester Crown Court.

But speaking to the M.E.N., her son Craig revealed the family had complained to police 15 times during a campaign of terror by local yobs. The police say they only received three complaints.

Craig, a 17-year-old student nurse said his mum had been driven to take the law into her own hands after police failed to tackle the thugs.

"All the time we have rung about things they have never even turned up. They are supposed to be there and protect you when you are in danger and you ring them up and they don't come and it starts getting to you.

"Mum hadn't gone out there to hurt anyone she was just fed up of our house getting vandalised and she wanted to defend her property."

Last night, the Manchester Evening received dozens of calls and messages on our website in support of Mrs Walker.

Norman Brennan, a spokesman for the Victims of Crime Trust, said the conviction was "a sad day for the justice system".

He said: "What does is it say when a teacher who has got no convictions and is an upstanding member of the community is driven into taking the law into her hands? I would say that the justice system failed her and the police failed her because they didn't respond to the problems that were taking place."

The special needs teacher was arrested after confronting a gang of youths outside her home on Hollyhouse Drive in August last year and firing the pistol at the pavement near one teenager's feet.

The teacher kept the pellet gun to clear squirrels from her garden.

Mrs Walker, 48, who works at New Park School in Salford, was found guilty of affray and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

Since 2003, the family say they have had fish stolen from a pond in their back garden, garden ornaments vandalised, their front door kicked, and their shed broken into on two separate occasions.

The family car was broken into on Christmas Day and the wing mirrors and windscreen on Craig's car were smashed in a separate incident.

One of the youths who appeared during the court case, Robert McKiernan, 18, had previous convictions for burglary, theft and criminal damage while another had been convicted of shoplifting the day before the shooting.

Greater Manchester Police said they only had records of three recent call-outs by the Walker family.

A spokeswoman said: "In 2004 we received three complaints from that address which we investigated. It may be that she has reported it to a passing officer and not officially logged it with us."

The family are expecting to appeal the conviction.

Should Mrs Walker have been jailed: Have your say.