What do you think? I think that a 37 year old career burglar who attacked a 78 year old pensioner in his own home, deserved what he got, and I hope they catch his accomplice. It seems the police don't agree, and they have arrested the pensioner for defending himself and his family.
I think the police are probably afraid of telling people it's alright to kill someone if they break into your house. Honestly, I'd rather kill them then have them get away with it and go onto reoffending and I have a payment for what they have done - especially if you got attacked.
I can see that the police are probably saying you shouldn't actively attempt to injure any intrudor and are supposed to use "reasonable force" - I mean a 78 year old can't exactly hold back a young burglar until the police get there anyway... Although, this probably would open up a lot of other cases (there was an isolated farmer who got prosecuted and found guilty a few years ago for "accidentally" shooting someone - he shot down his staircase as a warning to the burglars and accidentally fatally hit one of them.