Thursday 5th April 07
WARNING: Some of the pix at the bottom of this page are quite gory.
I'd been offered a PC by one of the reps at work during the Christmas do and he'd got it to me via one of the other drivers
who'd been in his area that day, Thursday the 5th April.
As I neared my home, I called ahead to Tracy to meet me on the street outside to help me bring it in. Which she did.
As I brought in the first piece of the computer, the tower desktop unit, a guy from a couple of doors up the road, with a can of Stella in his hand, came over and said,
"I want a word, mate. You best just give us that computer now, cos we're just gonna take it from you anyway."
I ignored him and carried on past, taking the unit into the house.
As I brought in each of the next three parts, the monitor, cables and finally the printer, which I handed to my wife, he again
demanded that I hand over the pc.
Only after I'd given Tracy the printer and told her to take it into the house, and locked the back doors of my van, did I speak to the guy.
As I'd got to my drivers door, and opened it, he'd made his way along the wall outside my home, which meant I was eye level with his knees. He again said that I should hand over the pc, to which I replied, "Why?"
His right foot suddenly came across the left side of my head in a side kick. I just stood there in no small amount of shock and surprise, the kick not having knocked me down. I then sat on the seat of my van and instead of trying to start the vehicle, I noticed my crooklock in the footwell and took hold of it.
Standing back next to my van, I raised the lock, and swung it at this thugs' left knee. It connected with the side of his knee,
but he just stood there on the wall, and said, "Ho, ho! Come on then!"
As he said this, he looked up the street to the house he'd come from, to his friends, who were already over the fence and
almost to me.
The first one was mere feet away by the time I looked in their direction and already had his foot up level with my head. His
flying kick connected with the right side of my face, near the ear and knocked me back, along the front wing of my van. I
dodged around my mirror and slid to the road in front of my vehicle, just as another of the thugs brought his foot up to hit
me on the bridge of my nose.
I got my arms up to cover my head while crouching in the feotal position in front of my van and saw the blood shoot out of
my nose in a long, thick stream. I crouched there, and received several more blows, only to my head from my three
attackers.
My wife, Tracy, by this point had called the police, and while they asked her what they looked like, she cried out that she was trying to take a photo with her phone camera. Luckily for me, they heard her say this, because one of them had by now got hold of my crooklock and was swinging it up like a golf club and aiming at my head.
Thankfully, Tracys' shout stopped them from continuing their assault on my head, and they sauntered off up the street away
from me, still cowering on the road.
I waited a few seconds, then sheepishly lowered my hands and looked about. Having not heard Tracys' shout, I wasn't sure if they'd just stopped so I'd do this to give them a better shot.
I got up from the floor and made my way past Tracy, telling her, when she asked, that my car keys were on the floor near
the van. Shaking, I went back into my house and straight to the bathroom, where I just slumped over it, in pain, bleeding into the bath.
About half an hour or so later, it seemed to me, although it could've been less, the police arrived. The officer saw me in the
bathroom with blood all down my arms from my facial injuries and called for an ambulance. They secured the area my attack had taken place and also called for forensics to take blood samples and photos of the scene.
The ambulance arrived shortly after, and I was taken to hospital, while the police stayed at my house waiting for their team
and to stay with my wife. They impounded my van for forensics to take fingerprints etc from the bodywork.
At the hospital I was taken to A&E and sat in the waiting room for what seemed like an age, with the pain building in my head as the swelling in my injuries began to put pressure on my skull. I was taken to a cubicle and assessed. X-rays were taken of my head and I caught a taxi home.
While I'd been at the hospital, my mum had shown up to sit with me. She told me Colin and his wife had come over from Leeds to stay with Tracy until I got back. Unfortunately, my mum had pulled her leg muscle running up the stairs at home, in her hurry to get to the hospital. This is why I ended up in a taxi, she had to wait to see a doctor herself.
I'd been offered a PC by one of the reps at work during the Christmas do and he'd got it to me via one of the other drivers
who'd been in his area that day, Thursday the 5th April.
As I neared my home, I called ahead to Tracy to meet me on the street outside to help me bring it in. Which she did.
As I brought in the first piece of the computer, the tower desktop unit, a guy from a couple of doors up the road, with a can of Stella in his hand, came over and said,
"I want a word, mate. You best just give us that computer now, cos we're just gonna take it from you anyway."
I ignored him and carried on past, taking the unit into the house.
As I brought in each of the next three parts, the monitor, cables and finally the printer, which I handed to my wife, he again
demanded that I hand over the pc.
Only after I'd given Tracy the printer and told her to take it into the house, and locked the back doors of my van, did I speak to the guy.
As I'd got to my drivers door, and opened it, he'd made his way along the wall outside my home, which meant I was eye level with his knees. He again said that I should hand over the pc, to which I replied, "Why?"
His right foot suddenly came across the left side of my head in a side kick. I just stood there in no small amount of shock and surprise, the kick not having knocked me down. I then sat on the seat of my van and instead of trying to start the vehicle, I noticed my crooklock in the footwell and took hold of it.
Standing back next to my van, I raised the lock, and swung it at this thugs' left knee. It connected with the side of his knee,
but he just stood there on the wall, and said, "Ho, ho! Come on then!"
As he said this, he looked up the street to the house he'd come from, to his friends, who were already over the fence and
almost to me.
The first one was mere feet away by the time I looked in their direction and already had his foot up level with my head. His
flying kick connected with the right side of my face, near the ear and knocked me back, along the front wing of my van. I
dodged around my mirror and slid to the road in front of my vehicle, just as another of the thugs brought his foot up to hit
me on the bridge of my nose.
I got my arms up to cover my head while crouching in the feotal position in front of my van and saw the blood shoot out of
my nose in a long, thick stream. I crouched there, and received several more blows, only to my head from my three
attackers.
My wife, Tracy, by this point had called the police, and while they asked her what they looked like, she cried out that she was trying to take a photo with her phone camera. Luckily for me, they heard her say this, because one of them had by now got hold of my crooklock and was swinging it up like a golf club and aiming at my head.
Thankfully, Tracys' shout stopped them from continuing their assault on my head, and they sauntered off up the street away
from me, still cowering on the road.
I waited a few seconds, then sheepishly lowered my hands and looked about. Having not heard Tracys' shout, I wasn't sure if they'd just stopped so I'd do this to give them a better shot.
I got up from the floor and made my way past Tracy, telling her, when she asked, that my car keys were on the floor near
the van. Shaking, I went back into my house and straight to the bathroom, where I just slumped over it, in pain, bleeding into the bath.
About half an hour or so later, it seemed to me, although it could've been less, the police arrived. The officer saw me in the
bathroom with blood all down my arms from my facial injuries and called for an ambulance. They secured the area my attack had taken place and also called for forensics to take blood samples and photos of the scene.
The ambulance arrived shortly after, and I was taken to hospital, while the police stayed at my house waiting for their team
and to stay with my wife. They impounded my van for forensics to take fingerprints etc from the bodywork.
At the hospital I was taken to A&E and sat in the waiting room for what seemed like an age, with the pain building in my head as the swelling in my injuries began to put pressure on my skull. I was taken to a cubicle and assessed. X-rays were taken of my head and I caught a taxi home.
While I'd been at the hospital, my mum had shown up to sit with me. She told me Colin and his wife had come over from Leeds to stay with Tracy until I got back. Unfortunately, my mum had pulled her leg muscle running up the stairs at home, in her hurry to get to the hospital. This is why I ended up in a taxi, she had to wait to see a doctor herself.
Friday
Col and Marilyn stayed over that night. Brad, my eldest, had seen some of the attack as it happened through the front room
window, Maia was thankfully at her other grandmas for the night, and my youngest, Nikita isn't old enough to know, being
just under 1 year old.
During the night, Tracy, understandably, couldn't sleep very well, and was up at the bedroom window just as there were a
few hooded-top wearing persons on the street in front of our house. They were pointing up at the house and Tracy heard
one of them say, "That's where they are, the bastards. We'll burn 'em in their beds."" We'll burn the babies in their beds"
Thankfully, they did nothing that night.
The morning after, we woke at about 7.30am and after not very much discussion, decided the best course of action was to
follow police advice from the previous evening, and get out of the house.
We started making phone calls and looking online for removals and storage firms. While that was being done, I sent out a few
texts to try to find a crew of imposing looking people, perhaps with vans to help us get our stuff moved as quick and danger
free as possible.
We found a removal and storage firm that were available that day and made the necessary arrangements for them to come
round as soon as possible.
In the meantime, Tracy phoned her dad to collect Brad and Nikita and get them away from any trouble. When he arrived, one
of the yobs from up the road was on the street, already drinking. He shouted across "Have you come for some pain, too?".
My father-in law was going to get more abuse but Tracy made him come in the house quickly and leave again with the
children, she feared they would do to her father what they did to me.
So using the emergency log number given us earlier by the police, we called for them to help stand guard on the house while
we got things moving.
This person on the street was taunting the police officers for a fight and eventually, the officers chased him down the street
and locked him up "for a few hours". This I took to be our time limit before any more trouble started.
A friend from Bradford, Cell, came over in his van and started helping us shift some stuff, while the removals firm loaded the
bulk of our stuff to storage.
The bike crew we were due to play for that night got back in touch with regard to the text message I'd sent and four of them
came over for a couple of hours to help, too.
When they arrived, in a 4x4, looking like something out of Mad Max, the street was deserted. They went through our house
like termites removing curtain poles and and boxes of stuff, dismantling bunk beds in double quick time. It was amazing to
see.
Another friend, Graham and his son Tom, again from Bradford, came over for the last legs and helped shift some more stuff in
his van. It was while we were at my mother in laws delivering our fridge, that I got a call from Tracy that, since the Team
Sober guys had now gone, the mob was making its presence known back on our street. I phoned the police using the
emergency log number once more and they arrived in about 10 minutes, just after myself and Graham got back to the house.
We loaded the last few bags and boxes into Grahams' van and the two cars we had and were escorted by the police off the
estate to safety.
window, Maia was thankfully at her other grandmas for the night, and my youngest, Nikita isn't old enough to know, being
just under 1 year old.
During the night, Tracy, understandably, couldn't sleep very well, and was up at the bedroom window just as there were a
few hooded-top wearing persons on the street in front of our house. They were pointing up at the house and Tracy heard
one of them say, "That's where they are, the bastards. We'll burn 'em in their beds."" We'll burn the babies in their beds"
Thankfully, they did nothing that night.
The morning after, we woke at about 7.30am and after not very much discussion, decided the best course of action was to
follow police advice from the previous evening, and get out of the house.
We started making phone calls and looking online for removals and storage firms. While that was being done, I sent out a few
texts to try to find a crew of imposing looking people, perhaps with vans to help us get our stuff moved as quick and danger
free as possible.
We found a removal and storage firm that were available that day and made the necessary arrangements for them to come
round as soon as possible.
In the meantime, Tracy phoned her dad to collect Brad and Nikita and get them away from any trouble. When he arrived, one
of the yobs from up the road was on the street, already drinking. He shouted across "Have you come for some pain, too?".
My father-in law was going to get more abuse but Tracy made him come in the house quickly and leave again with the
children, she feared they would do to her father what they did to me.
So using the emergency log number given us earlier by the police, we called for them to help stand guard on the house while
we got things moving.
This person on the street was taunting the police officers for a fight and eventually, the officers chased him down the street
and locked him up "for a few hours". This I took to be our time limit before any more trouble started.
A friend from Bradford, Cell, came over in his van and started helping us shift some stuff, while the removals firm loaded the
bulk of our stuff to storage.
The bike crew we were due to play for that night got back in touch with regard to the text message I'd sent and four of them
came over for a couple of hours to help, too.
When they arrived, in a 4x4, looking like something out of Mad Max, the street was deserted. They went through our house
like termites removing curtain poles and and boxes of stuff, dismantling bunk beds in double quick time. It was amazing to
see.
Another friend, Graham and his son Tom, again from Bradford, came over for the last legs and helped shift some more stuff in
his van. It was while we were at my mother in laws delivering our fridge, that I got a call from Tracy that, since the Team
Sober guys had now gone, the mob was making its presence known back on our street. I phoned the police using the
emergency log number once more and they arrived in about 10 minutes, just after myself and Graham got back to the house.
We loaded the last few bags and boxes into Grahams' van and the two cars we had and were escorted by the police off the
estate to safety.
Thank You
We would like to say a huge thank you to the guys from Team Sober, Cell, Graham and his fantastic son Tom, Col, Marilyn, the removals guys who although scared still stayed till the end, and my mum, my mother and father in law for all their help those two days. Also to the West Yorkshire Police who did all they could to keep us safe.
And also, a great deal of thanks to everyone who would've been there had they had the chance, and to all those of you who have sent messages of support.
With any luck, we will be rehoused very soon.
And also, a great deal of thanks to everyone who would've been there had they had the chance, and to all those of you who have sent messages of support.
With any luck, we will be rehoused very soon.
