A crime-plagued 81-year-old widow has turned her West Midland home into a fortress in an attempt to feel safe once again after a spate of burglaries and thefts.
Raiders have struck eight times in the past two months alone, forcing determined Dorothy Stanley to have wooden bars nailed across windows to keep villains at bay. The four-bedroom detached house in Wolverhampton, where she has lived for 50 years, now has CCTV cameras inside the property so she can monitor activity outside.
Retired hairdresser Mrs Stanley has three locks on each of the four doors giving access to the house, security lights in the garden, iron grills over some ground floor windows and a panic alarm linked to the local police station – but the criminals still keep coming.
So a six feet high fence will be erected around the house in the near future with special sensors to detect movement as part of a further £1,000 security revamp.
Mrs Stanley, who shares her home with seven year old Yorkshire terrier Jodie, was burgled on March 4 when a man burst in, pushed past the startled pensioner and escaped with her purse.
Five hours later – at one in the morning – another raider battered down a door and stole her bag.
Since then she has fallen victim to crime six more times, most recently yesterday when a raider fled after trying unsuccessfully to get in to the house.
She has been injured once and on several occasions the thieves have tried to pose as officials. At least three left empty handed.
Two fled after being disturbed while the third ran off when Mrs Stanley insisted on ringing police to check his ID. No more than £250 in total has been taken but the psychological price Mrs Stanley has been forced to pay has been huge.
The mother of two said today: “It is dreadful. My life has been affected in every way. My nerves are on edge and it gets you down but there is no way that I will be forced out.
“I am quite durable and very determined I get over things quickly which is just as well because they have been coming thick and fast. I feel like a prisoner in my own home but I know it will all be over one day. I have got faith in the police who I know are doing their best.”
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Hyde of Wolverhampton police said: “We have increased patrols locally and have put various measures in place in an attempt to prevent further offences.”
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8 Comments
What a terrible way for this poor lady to have to live and how depressing that society has fallen into such a state. If the criminals were treated more harshly instead of a slap on the hand or a prison term at Butlins (or any other holiday camp) perhaps people like this lady could live out the rest of their lives happily.
As this seems to be a concerted series of attacks on this woman have the Police not considered watching the property? This article isn’t just an indictment of the poor moral state of our society, but also the inadequate even woeful lack of common sense that exists in our legal system currently.
Poor show West Midlands police…you ought to be ashamed…..
I remember when Wolverhampton was a nice place to live!
Simon Hyde - it might help if you caught these people and the judicial service put them away for a long time. How I long for the birch to be brought back.
As a Brit (ex-Stourbridge) living in the US, I was horrified to read this news article - how can someones property be attacked so many times in such a short period, and the police have no clue?!!! Shame on them. I live in a small town in the US, and you hear about the crime here but we don’t even need to lock our doors!
I hope this poor woman finds a solution, because she, and not the criminals, is in prison!
Not enough brownie points for catching burglars !
I’m originally from Wolverhampton and have lived in Dallas, Texas for 25 years. I can tell you this that the simple answer to this poor ladies problem is the right to bear arms. If someone breaks into my house and I shoot them (which I would without hesitation)that would be the end of the matter …… Problem solved. Burglaries here ere very rare if the people are home ………. Why?. I just explained above.
SHE HAS GOT THE RIGHT IDEA… TO BE SAFE LIVING IN THE MIDLANDS YOU HAVE TO TURN YOUR HOME INFTO A FORTRESS, NO OTHER OPTION, MORE DANGEROUS NOW THAN THE BRONX IN NEW YORK