More Violent Burglaries

It seems that the days when an Englishman's home was his castle are long gone.

Although burglary is always a particularly odious and unpleasant crime, it becomes far more so when the occupants of the house are actually at home.

These burglaries, in which the occupants are actually held hostage whilst the thefts are carried out, are becoming all too common.

The following case happened in Nottingham, in which a middle-aged couple were tied up and beaten in front of their three year old grandson. At one stage, one of the three masked men asked Phillip Ward if he wanted to see his wife or his grandson die first:

A GRANDFATHER has told how a machete-wielding burglar asked him whether he wanted his wife or grandson to die first during a terrifying two-hour ordeal.

Philip Ward, 50, had a machete pressed against the back of his neck in his kitchen by one of three masked burglars.

The trio had burst into the Clifton home he shares with his wife, Annette, after they returned from eating out with their three-year-old grandson Oliver.

"I just wanted to take one more look at Annette and Oliver as I thought he would kill me," said Mr Ward, whose hands had been tied up.

"I gave him the code for my safe and was taken back into the lounge where Annette and Oliver were.

"He went up the stairs and cleared the safe out while one of the other burglars watched over us.

"Around ten minutes later he came back down. He said 'there's more piggies aren't there?" and that it was my fault this was happening. I said there wasn't any more, then he said 'which one do you want to see die first?"

Mr Ward was hit with the machete and Mrs Ward was ordered into a cupboard underneath the stairs of their home in Foxearth Avenue.

Earlier in their ordeal, Mrs Ward had tried to shield Oliver as he watched his grandparents being struck by the burglars. The couple's daughter and Oliver's mother, Hayley Ward, 27, from Clifton, said: "Mum was saying 'they are playing, they are only playing' as Oliver was watching her get hit. She was so brave."

During the incident, one of the burglars kept an eye on the family, another guarded the front door, while the third searched the house.

They eventually escaped with a large quantity of cash and jewellery.

Once the offenders had fled, Mrs Ward managed to alert a neighbour who called the police.

She said: "It's the sort of thing you see on TV, but not something you expect to ever go through.

"Of course myself and Phil have been badly affected, however I think our grandson has been left the most frightened."

A popular and well-known couple in Clifton, Mr Ward owns the Sunninghill Off Licence on Sunninghill Drive.

Police are urging the public to help them catch the burglars who were armed with a sawn-off shotgun and metal bar as well as a machete during the incident which began around 11pm on Saturday.

They are all described as wearing dark clothing and had facemasks. One is thought to be white or light skinned, around 5ft 6in and of slim build. A second man was black, around 6ft, medium build. The third mixed race, 6ft 2in, slim build.

The next case I stumbled across occurred in January of this year, and concerns a lady of 73 who was tied up in her home in Dorset as burglars ransacked it. It is thought the perpetrators had carried out a similar burglary in the same street:

A 73-year-old woman has been tied up by burglars who forced their way into her home in Dorset.

Two men barged into the bungalow in River Way, Christchurch, on Friday night, and tied the wrists of the woman before ransacking the property.

The victim was left shocked and upset but did not suffer any physical injury.

Police said it is the second similar burglary in the same road in a month. In December a young couple were tied up and attacked by armed raiders.

Police said they were keeping an open mind about whether the two burglaries were linked.

Det Sgt Mark Jenkins said nothing appeared to have been stolen in Friday night's burglary.

He said: "To have two similar offences in a month in the same road in Christchurch is most unusual.

"Although there is nothing so far to suggest that the same burglars are responsible for both, I am still keeping an open mind.

"I don't believe that this was a random incident and [the victim] only saw one of the two men who came into her home."

He was described as being black, in his late 20s and between 5ft 8in and 6ft. He was wearing dark clothing.

Det Sgt Jenkins added: "The two burglars left the house on foot into Chestnut Avenue where I suspect that they had a car waiting."

He appealed to anyone who saw a "two men acting suspiciously in River Way near Oak Avenue around 8.45pm" or an unusual car parked or stopping in or near Chestnut Avenue" at that time to contact police.

Such cases are extremely troubling. Not only is there the unnecessary violence used against vulnerable people - but if you can't feel safe in your own home, then what is left?