Express & Star

Appeal after attempted break-ins leave mother and daughter in fear

A gang of eight men are thought to be responsible for two attempted raids on homes barely a mile apart, leaving residents afraid and calling for police action.

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Police are investigating two similar attempted break-ins in Great Barr

The group tried to kick in the front door of a home in Beeches Road, Great Barr, in the early hours of Wednesday.

Police have now confirmed they are also investigating a similar attempted break-in barely 24 hours earlier and are appealing for witnesses.

The two crimes involved a mother in Beeches Road who watched "petrified" as eight men tried to kick the front door to her home down in the early hours of Wednesday.

The previous night, in nearby Kingsdown Avenue, neighbours called the police after eight men pulled up to a house at about 4.30am and tried to smash the front door in. The house was empty at the time.

One of the victims, the mother who lives in Beeches Road, said the ordeal on Wednesday morning left her and her grown-up daughter "petrified".

Caroline, who did not want to give her surname in fear of her safety, said she was "shaken and angry".

"At 2am I heard a bang and my dogs started barking," she said. "I thought it was a car crash so looked out of the window and saw four masked men at my front door. I shouted at them and one shouted up to me "where’s the weed".

"He was repeatedly kicking the door. Then they all ran back to one of the cars but then came back down the path and started kicking again. There were eight men in three cars.

"I was petrified and so was my daughter, who is 24. My husband works nights and would normally be at work but he was here. The police came in 15 minutes but there was nothing they can do.

"Two other people have messaged me saying the same has happened to them within last two weeks. Greenholm and Great Barr. Police need to sort it before someone is killed or seriously injured."

The door to Caroline's house now needs replacing, she said, and the plaster has come off around the door in the hallway, as the men were kicking at it with such force.

She has since shared her story on the Great Barr Neighbourhood Forum Facebook page, to warn other residents – dozens of people responded, saying they felt the area had got worse for crime in recent years.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "Police were called to reports of a group of men trying to force the door of a property in Beeches Road, Great Barr, around 1.45am on October 16.

"They failed to gain entry and fled in cars."

Officers said they were also called just after 10.20am on Tuesday (15th) to reports of an attempted break-in on Kingsdown Avenue, Great Barr, overnight.

A spokesman added: "The offenders were disturbed and no access was gained to the property which was unoccupied at the time."

Police are appealing for information to call 101.