Shocking moment yobs attack grandfather with metal chain outside home

2022-08-15

Shocking moment grandfather, 76, is punched and hit with a metal chain as he bravely confronted masked yobs outside his home – as he blasts ‘uninterested’ police after being tormented for months

Video shows Roy Muller, 76, confronting yobs outside his home in Birmingham
Grandfather-of-nine defended his property after being targeted since October
He says he has tried to tell the police but says they are ‘uninterested’ in his plight
Mr Muller says he is too scared to leave his home following Thursday’s incident
He has written directly to chief of West Midlands Police in last ditch plea for help
West Midlands Police says it is probing assault and is investigating intimidation

This is the shocking moment a grandfather is punched and hit with a metal chain while bravely confronting masked yobs outside his home – after months of torment by armed gangs.

Video shows Roy Muller, 76, being struck with a weapon and repeatedly punched and kicked as he tries to remove the unruly youths from the driveway of his home in Great Barr, Birmingham.

The grandfather-of-nine says he was forced to defend his property from the aggressive youths, having been targeted by gangs of anti-social yobs for months.

Roy, who lives alone and suffered a heart attack last year, says ‘uninterested’ police have failed to act – despite him being targeted by up to 14 youths on a daily basis.

The shocking video of the attack on Mr Muller was filmed via a doorbell camera on Thursday – the same day as figures revealed how police are charging suspects in just a fraction of offences such as burglary, theft and robbery.

Mr Muller says he is now too scared to leave his home and has written to West Midlands Police’s Chief Constable Sir David Thompson in a last ditch plea for help.

Police say they are investigating the assault and are also ‘aware’ of reports of ongoing anti-social behaviour. The force insists it takes allegations of harassment ‘incredibly seriously’.

This is the shocking moment a grandfather is punched and hit with metal chains after bravely confronting masked yobs outside his home – after months of torment by armed gangs

Video shows Roy Muller (pictured), 76, being struck with a weapon and repeatedly punched and kicked as he tries to remove the unruly youths from his driveway in Great Barr, Birmingham

The shocking video shows the pensioner tackling a masked yob as he approaches his semi-detached house.

The retired council worker can be seen grappling with the youth as he is struck with what he believes to be a metal chain or dog lead.

Mr Muller is then repeatedly punched and kicked as a friend of the youth runs down the road to help. They both then make their escape on foot.

The OAP picks up his glasses – sent flying from his head during the scuffle – and returns into the house – where has lived for nearly 50 years.

Speaking about the incident, he said: ‘At my age I shouldn’t be forced to take the law into my own hands – especially after having a heart attack – but I don’t know what else to do.

Mr Muller (pictured) now says he is too scared to leave his home and has written to West Midlands Police’s Chief Constable Sir David Thompson in a last ditch plea for help

‘The police just don’t seem interested. It has slowly escalated and I’m worried what is going to happen next.

‘It began with them just banging on the doors, they shout abuse and trample my garden. They throw stones at my house. It’s all a laugh to them.

‘On this occasion I saw them coming and thought I’d try and detain them for the police, but it was a silly idea because they were armed.

‘They had a metal chain or a dog lead that they hit me with, luckily I wasn’t too badly hurt.

‘I had a cut to my ear, some bruises and a few aches and pains, but nothing I can’t deal with

‘I just thought they can’t keep getting away with this and I wanted to defend my home.

‘The police have been today, but say because they are wearing masks they have pretty much no chance of catching them.

‘But somebody must recognise them. All the police ever do is come and record it and go away.

‘They even said to me, be careful what I do in future because it could be me that ends up getting into trouble. All I’m doing it trying to protect my home.

The grandfather-of-nine (pictured) says he was forced to take matters into his own hands and defend his property after being targeted by gangs of anti-social yobs since October last year

The retired council worker can be seen grappling with the youth as he is struck with what he believes to be a metal chain or dog lead

‘The police say ignore them, but they need to sort them out because it’s giving them the message they can get away with his behaviour.

‘I’m scared to go out now and I’m constantly checking my CCTV or looking out my window. The stress is not good for me.

‘This used to be a nice area but the place is going downhill. There’s been up to 14 of them outside my home at one point. Sometimes they come on electric scooters

‘I don’t know why they have singled me out. I am just concerned that it’s building up to something worse.

‘The longest time I’ve been without trouble for is a month, now it can be every day and I don’t know where to turn. It’s just getting worse and worse.

‘It can be twice a day so I’ve written to the chief constable pleading for help. I don’t think I’m a person who is easily intimidated but its gotten out of hand.

‘I’ve not had a reply which is quite disappointing but I just need the police to catch these guys.’

In his letter to the Chief Constable, Mr Muller wrote: ‘Please, Please, Please, help me, I just cannot go on like this.

‘These thugs know they have the law on their side if I tackle them as they have quoted this to me.

‘I am a 76 year old male who recently suffered a heart attack and this is affecting my quality of life and if I give chase it may cause a further heart attack, who knows. Please help me.’

Police say they are investigating the assault and are also ‘aware’ of reports of ongoing anti-social behaviour, and insist it takes allegations of harassment ‘incredibly seriously’

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: ‘We’re investigating after receiving reports of a man in his 70s being the victim of assault and harassment in Great Barr.

‘We fully understand how distressing this is and are looking to safeguard the man while progressing enquiries to establish those responsible.

‘Officers from the local neighbourhood policing team are aware of ongoing anti-social behaviour and are routinely monitoring the area as part of their patrols strategy.

‘We take all allegations of harassment incredibly seriously, and we are committed to ensuring the safety of our community.

‘If you know who’s causing the problems in the area, please use the Live Chat service on our website west-midlands.police.uk or call 101 and quote crime number 20/666656/22.’

It comes after a damning report found how the vast majority of burglary victims – as well as those targeting by thieves and robbers – are being let down by the police.

Officers are ‘missing opportunities’ to catch suspects from the moment crimes are reported, the report concludes.

The latest Home Office figures show that just 3.7 per cent of burglaries, 4.2 per cent of thefts and 6.6 per cent of robberies result in a charge.

Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said on Thursday that these are ‘not minor crimes’ and they ‘strike at the heart of how safe people feel in their own homes and communities’.

He said the low charging rates were damaging confidence in the police and has ordered a ‘back-to-basics’ approach amid fears that sloppy investigations mean victims ‘aren’t getting the justice they deserve’.

The latest Home Office data shows that fewer than 10 per cent of burglaries lead to a charge (this data includes robberies, burglaries and thefts)

Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke says these are ‘not minor crimes’ and they ‘strike at the heart of how safe people feel in their own homes and communities’

The low charging rates are ‘unacceptable and unsustainable’, according to a devastating audit by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

Its bombshell report comes amid increasing concern that police are putting too much focus on ‘woke’ issues and not enough on crimes that shatter people’s lives.

The report found success rates for securing charges on burglaries, thefts and robberies varied wildly from force to force, creating an unacceptable ‘postcode lottery’ for victims.

It pointed to a national detective shortage and a large number of inexperienced officers as contributing factors.

The report also cited pressure on 999 call handlers, meaning some gathered only the bare minimum of information from victims.

Inspectors found that in 71 per cent of burglary reports, call handlers failed to give victims any advice on crime scene preservation – meaning vital forensic evidence could be lost.

Mr Cooke said: ‘A lack of experienced officers means that too often, these crimes are being investigated poorly and are not adequately supervised – often because supervisors themselves are inexperienced and overstretched.’

Almost a third of officers in England and Wales have less than five years’ experience but in a third of cases there was insufficient supervision, the report says, resulting in missed opportunities including intelligence gathering and linking cases.

Some forces can take six months to return fingerprint identifications, which can rule out prosecutions in magistrates’ courts due to statutory time limits – rendering an entire investigation useless.

And compliance with the code of practice for victims – the minimum standard victims should expect – was inadequate in almost half of investigations, the audit found.

Mr Cooke said: ‘There needs to be a concerted drive to address this issue because it directly affects the public’s confidence in the police’s ability to keep them safe. At the moment, depending on where in England and Wales they live, some victims are more likely than others to get a thorough investigation from their force. This postcode lottery can’t be justified.’

Mr Cooke said simple measures – such as visiting a burglary victim in person – could go a long way in reassuring the public that the police were taking action. Among the report’s recommendations are that forces should ensure crime-scene management practices are brought up to the recommended standard by next March.

Forces should also ensure that supervisors have the capability and capacity to properly oversee investigations.

Source: Read Full Article