Elderly father, 77, is ‘smashed to pieces’ by hammer-wielding thugs who stole jewellery and £300 cash in terrifying home raid
- John Gray, from Ormesby, was badly injured in the brutal attack on January 27th
- His daughter said nurses told her they ‘can’t understand how he’s still alive’
- Mark Lloyd, from Middlesbrough, has been charged with aggravated burglary
A 77-year-old man was attacked in his home by brutal thugs who broke his ribs with a hammer and also slashed him with a knife during a robbery.
John Gray, from Ormesby near Middlesbrough, was injured so badly that nurses told his daughter they ‘can’t understand how he’s still alive.’
The incident, in which his daughter said he was ‘smashed to pieces’, occurred on January 27th and the thieves made off with about £300, along with some jewellery and other items.
A police investigation is under way as Mr Gray struggles in hospital. His daughter, Chantelle, 41, said that Mr Gray kept saying ‘please don’t hurt me’ when family visited him.
John Gray (pictured in hospital), from Ormesby near Middlesbrough, was injured so badly that nurses told his daughter they ‘can’t understand how he’s still alive’
Chantelle told Teesside Live that her father had broken ribs because of the hammers blows, as well as a bleed on the brain and a cut arm from the knife attack.
‘He’d been smashed to pieces,’ she told the publication.
Chantelle, who said police initially told her that her father’s injuries ‘weren’t too serious’, added: ‘When you walked into the place you could see it was more than a burglary’
‘In the hospital he didn’t know who any of us were. He was very scared. He’s still trying to recover. When we went to visit him he didn’t even know I was there.’
The pensioner’s property was so badly ransacked that doctors opted against sending him back to continue his recovery.
But Chantelle thinks he isn’t doing ‘too good,’ adding that her father is suffering from panic attacks and flashbacks because of the ordeal.
Chantelle told Teesside Live that her father had broken ribs because of the hammers blows, as well as a bleed on the brain and a cut arm from the knife attack. Mr Gray’s home is pictured
‘He could have died. The nurses can’t understand how he’s still alive, they said a young person with those injuries would be lucky to survive,’ she said, adding: ‘I’m pretending it’s not real. It’s destroyed us.’
Mark Lloyd, 38, from Middlesbrough, has been charged with aggravated burglary, assault and possession of a bladed article and will appear at Teesside Crown Court on February 26.
He has been given conditional bail until that date. Police also want to speak to another man in connection to the incident, he is described as being of a stocky build and was wearing a dark coloured crash helmet.
This man was seen running towards the Overfields/Spencerbeck area around the time of the incident, police said.