Deaf man's home is wrecked by burglars

From: Worksop Guardian - Worksop,England,UK - May 25, 2007

By Staff Copy

A DISABLED Manton man returned home from a night out to find his house had been ransacked and flooded by burglars.
Jamie Potts, who has been deaf since birth, has been left devastated after finding his home wrecked and his daughter’s toys stolen.

His uncle, John Potts, says his nephew has been to upset to speak about the matter and added that he didn’t deserve what happened.

”Jamie has always had it hard. His mum died when he was three and he’s lost a lot of people in his life, as well as struggling with health problems himself,” said John.

On Saturday, Jamie dropped his 10-year-old daughter Carla off with her grandma, before heading out to watch the FA Cup Final in town with friends.

When he returned to his Martlet Way home around 1am, he found his door kicked in, water all over the kitchen floor, and his property – including Carla’s toys – had been stolen.

”Jamie came round to my house in the middle of the night to tell me, and he was very upset and still is - the next night he had three friends to stay because he was so worried. Carla has had to have time off school too,” said John.

”Whoever did this had some real violence in them, because as well as stealing things, they trashed the place, kicking everything, and even ransacking Carla’s room.”

”They scattered pictures of her all over the living room and took her Robosapien toy she had for Christmas – everything was

such a mess, it looks like whoever did it just went crazy.”

Adding insult to injury, the thief deliberately blocked the kitchen sink with a charger Jamie has for an electric lamp, and left the taps running.

John, of Waverley Place, is now hoping someone will come forward with information about who did this to Jamie and Carla who will have to wait two weeks for the damage to their house to be repaired.

”The police have been very good and have kept us updated almost every day, but I’m sure someone knows who did this,” he said.

”Jamie is a good man, he will always help anybody who asks him, and this shouldn’t have happened to him. I hope whoever did this gets caught.”

Worksop Police say the burglary happened between 7.15pm on Saturday 19th and 1.15am on Sunday 20th May.

Anyone with information should contact Worksop police on 01909 500999 or CrimeStoppers on 0800 555111.

© 2007 Worksop Guardian