A Stoneyridge man at home recovering from a heart attack was punched in his face, hit with a plank and robbed by seven men yesterday.
George Hatton, 56, who suffered a second heart attack barely two months ago, was beaten when he tried to stop the gang stealing his neighbour’s car. His wife was also attacked by by two of the men, who invaded the couple’s house. One punched her in the face.
George, who sleeps on a reclining chair in the lounge because of his heart, recounted how he heard his small dog, Scoobie, barking just before 1am yesterday.
He woke his wife and the couple peered through their security gate and saw a gang of men interfering with their neighbour’s car in the street. He said the repeated failure of police to react to frequent neighbourhood crime left them disheartened.
“Brenda went back to bed, but a while later Scoobie barked again and I saw the men sitting on the roundabout in the park down the road.
“At about 2.30am he barked again and this time I went outside onto the pavement because they had my neighbour’s bonnet open and were removing her battery.”
George said he shouted at the men, who ignored him.
“As I turned to go back towards my front gate they hit me from behind with a plank about three times and punched me in the face.
“Every time I tried to get up they hit me again. I felt lame and thought I was having another heart attack.”
The couple said five of the men rushed into their house. Two accosted Brenda in her bedroom, while three stripped the lounge of a flatscreen TV, an amplifier, a camera and a tablet.
George’s silver chain was ripped from his neck.
“I was lying in the gutter and I could hear Brenda screaming but I could not get up. I thought they might kill her.”
Brenda said she was so furious with the robber who took her cellphone that she pounded on his chest with her fists.
“I was fighting for my phone,” she said. “He punched me in my in the face and I ran to the window and screamed for help and smashed the burglar bars.”
She said neighbours called the police, who arrived within 15 minutes.
When the Daily Dispatch visited the couple yesterday, a tearful Brenda was being comforted by a stream of friends and relatives.
“How can they invade your house and scare you like this?”
George, who is on sick leave from his job as a driver for BMW, said he had felt compelled to intervene when he saw the men interfering with his neighbour’s car.
“I hate to see people stealing from others. I don’t know where I got the courage to go outside.
“I will just have to work harder to replace the things they stole.”
Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi said police were investigating a case of house robbery but no arrests had been made. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
7 thugs attack couple at home
George Hatton, 56, who suffered a second heart attack barely two months ago, was beaten when he tried to stop the gang stealing his neighbour’s car. His wife was also attacked by by two of the men, who invaded the couple’s house. One punched her in the face.
George, who sleeps on a reclining chair in the lounge because of his heart, recounted how he heard his small dog, Scoobie, barking just before 1am yesterday.
He woke his wife and the couple peered through their security gate and saw a gang of men interfering with their neighbour’s car in the street. He said the repeated failure of police to react to frequent neighbourhood crime left them disheartened.
“Brenda went back to bed, but a while later Scoobie barked again and I saw the men sitting on the roundabout in the park down the road.
“At about 2.30am he barked again and this time I went outside onto the pavement because they had my neighbour’s bonnet open and were removing her battery.”
George said he shouted at the men, who ignored him.
“As I turned to go back towards my front gate they hit me from behind with a plank about three times and punched me in the face.
“Every time I tried to get up they hit me again. I felt lame and thought I was having another heart attack.”
The couple said five of the men rushed into their house. Two accosted Brenda in her bedroom, while three stripped the lounge of a flatscreen TV, an amplifier, a camera and a tablet.
George’s silver chain was ripped from his neck.
“I was lying in the gutter and I could hear Brenda screaming but I could not get up. I thought they might kill her.”
Brenda said she was so furious with the robber who took her cellphone that she pounded on his chest with her fists.
“I was fighting for my phone,” she said. “He punched me in my in the face and I ran to the window and screamed for help and smashed the burglar bars.”
She said neighbours called the police, who arrived within 15 minutes.
When the Daily Dispatch visited the couple yesterday, a tearful Brenda was being comforted by a stream of friends and relatives.
“How can they invade your house and scare you like this?”
George, who is on sick leave from his job as a driver for BMW, said he had felt compelled to intervene when he saw the men interfering with his neighbour’s car.
“I hate to see people stealing from others. I don’t know where I got the courage to go outside.
“I will just have to work harder to replace the things they stole.”
Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi said police were investigating a case of house robbery but no arrests had been made. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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