Hi Guys and Gals - been a while since i've posted - but I do come visit from time to time!. I'd like to ask you for your help. My Stepson's grandad is 80, and had a triple heart bypass 6 months ago. The family live in a large old country house in Staffordshire. He is one of the nicest, kindest, funny and charming men that I know. He wasn't born with a silver spoon, he grafted sweat for everything he had. Last friday, he was subjected to a 7 hour ordeal and armed robbery and the utmost horrific brutality. He returned home from the supermarket in Leek at around 8.00pm and was jumped by 2 eastern europeans, who were then joined by either 5 or 6 more again all with Eastern European Accents. They smacked his dog with a base ball bat, and then gaffer taped him to a chair before systematically beating the crap out of him with an iron bar and repeatedly punching him in the face. They arrived in several vans, and they proceeded to strip the house of every painting, stick of furniture, historic suits of armour, old weaponry and the usual jewellery, watches etc. They took pretty much everything. They ripped all the phone wires out and left him alone, beaten up and bound. To cap it all the cheeky bastard also stole my step son's long wheel base Merc sprinter, which was outside and filled that full of gear too. They even ripped up floor boards and smashed holes in ceilings to see if there was any hidden money and have completely destroyed his bed and mattrass looking for bank notes. The police are saying that this is the worst armed robbery they have dealt with in years in the County. Its clearly been a highly professional and organised job and wasn't just a random attack - the police think that they may have been watching the house for some time. There is little in the way of DNA although there are some leads, and they all wore gloves all the time, and masks. They even arrived with a big roll of bubble wrap, and apparently very carefully wrapped everything before loading it. All of the antiques taken are big canvass portraits - sort of Cromwellian style portraits if you know what I mean or landscapes and they've taken 5 suits of armour and lots of swords, cromwellian helmets and breast plates and pikes and that sort of thing. Nothwithstanding the fact that they are thieving scumbags, what I cannot believe is how anyone with even a shred of decency could beat an 80 year old defenceless old man in the way that they have. It sickens me to my very corps and I can only imagine the terror he must have gone through. They've left him with nothing and to make it worse, as a pensioner he couldn't afford the insurance premiums for the contents and he isn't insured - so he really has lost everything. Its a long shot, but if you are in the antiques trade, or have friends who are - just mention to them to look out for any medieval armoury and weaponry or good quality 18th century portraits that they may be offered over the coming months - if you / they have any suspicions at all as to its provenance, then please call Staffordshire Police reference the Armed Robbery on the 27th September at Leek. We have a list of what he thinks was taken, and some of the items were extremely unusual and readily identifiable.
I really don't know what to say. I hope the old man gets well soon and the bastards that did it die horribly.
thats terrible Gav...my dad and stepmum live in stafford and are always visiting antiques fairs etc so i will pass this on in the vague hope that they may see something...have you contacted any militaria specialists?
Sorry to be reading this :-( hope he gets better soon and that the police find the bastards responsible.
I would imagine the Police have - and I've circulated it through RICS as most auction houses are RICS firms.
Don't know if this is practicable, but a small website with all the photos uploaded may be a start. Who knows, with an FB campaign it may go viral.
Its a great world we live in, eh. Hope the old fella recovers and can somehow put it behind him. And culprits get found
That is so nasty. I hope he can manage to get over this terrible ordeal as at that age it can be the thing that alters their outlook on life permanently.
Im waiting on a detailed list of the main items that were stolen which I'll post here along with the incident number for the police. Please everyone - could you copy and paste this post to your facebook pages and make it go viral - these xxxxs need finding and putting behind bars before they do the same again to someone else's loved one. Given his heart history, its a miracle its not a homicide as well.
That's horrific,we can only hope that one day those shits will get their come uppance,wouldn't it be great if they were treated in the same way,even if they are caught the punishment would in no way fit the crime.Today and today only I believe in shariah law,off with their hands.
Don't know what to say about that! All I can say is what's been said, hope he gets well and hope they get what's coming!
My mate's a postmaster, and his post office got done in a similar way, by Polish and English blokes. He didn't get beaten up, but they dragged his wife and daughter upstairs - you can imagine what was going through my mate's mind. Thankfully no-one was harmed, presumably because they got away with a stack of cash. They were caught and are now doing time. Burglary is bad enough, but a gang of men beating up a pensioner? Utter, utter bastards.
They need to get information to the border police and quickly before they try to get back to mainland europe. Things that rare I just can't see them trying to sell locally or to UK auction houses.Utter scumbags, they deserve the death penalty and nothing less.
I hate this stuff, makes my blood boil. Anyone convicted of criminal activity abroad should be refused entry to the UK. We are a soft touch for these overseas organised gangs. I returned from France on the Eurotunnel in the early hours of Saturday morning and was amongst 5 polish tatty unmarked vans when waiting to board. I know criminals when I see them and these guys were obvious. Enter the UK, do the crime, return home, end of story.
The loot and the perps would have been out of the UK within 12 hours. By all means keep an eye out locally, but don't expect any results. Just being realistic.
Well yes, that certainly happens, but it is also not unknown for UK criminals to travel abroad, commit crimes there, and escape back to UK. The idea that gangs and criminals must be 'foreigners' is the Daily Mail at its worst. It is also possible that the Poles in the tatty vans were on their way to Lincolnshire to pick Brussels sprouts.
