Terror as couple find masked gang in Erdington home

By hgreaves

An ERDINGTON couple have spoken of their terrifying ordeal after four masked men broke into their home in the middle of the night and demanded the keys to their cars.

Ray Woods, aged 59, was asleep with his wife in the bedroom of their Pype Hayes home when the attack happened at 12.20am yesterday morning, Thursday.

Ray said: "I woke up from a deep sleep to hear my wife screaming and shouting, trying to shut the bedroom door on a man wearing a balaclava who was inches from her face.

"A gang of four were in the house, all the alarms went off and they were shouting at us to give them the keys to our cars.

"I told my wife to move away from the door and I planted my feet against the door to stop them getting into our room.

"We managed to hold them off long enough for one of the neighbours to call the police."

The intruders ran off empty-handed before officers arrived.

Ray, marketing and fund-raising officer for the League of Friends of the John Taylor Hospice, had increased security at his home following a burglary last August when his car was stolen.

"The gates were double padlocked but they had leapt over them and smashed the lock on the front door to get in," he said.

"The first thing I saw when I woke up was a man in a balaclava trying to get into our room – it was a terrifying experience.

"I had woken up and found myself in the middle of a nightmare.

"We are both okay, the burglars weren't armed, but we didn't know that.

"This was a front-on offensive – a ruthless invasion.

"They had come prepared to drive away two cars knowing we were in the house."

Detective Sergeant Dave Keen, from Queens Road Police Station, appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to contact him on 0845 113 5000 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.