And a couple of years down the track it's the same old story.
'Get out and don't come back' is their tagline.
This is the way we treat people who don't do as we say.
People who are prepared to stand up and be counted ~ unlike those who whisper behind their hands and watch behind their curtains as the thugs go by.Cornforth has a history with accelerants - they love a bit of petrol here and there! Given that previously a police personnel carrier
had been petrol bombed in West Cornforth and although four people were arrested in dawn raids one of whom had council connections, no charges were ever brought and following on from the Yunis' experience with Arson you would have thought some major action would have been taken when a threat to petrol bomb my home was pushed through the letter box but sadly, no!
In the same week I had a petrol soaked sofa wedged under my window - captured on my CCTV in broad daylight and while a police Sgt explained he couldnt do anything about it as no one person in the gang hanging around my door would admit to up ending the sofa and placing it there, two tyres were blown off a car outside and my house shook but still the police did nothing, unbelievable except it happened!
The photograph on the right is of a letter pushed through my door late one Saturday night.
It arrived in a plain white envelope and to be honest I thought nothing of it at the time - presuming it was some sort of leaflet/ad/giveaway promotion. It was only when I had a rock thrown at my door some 30 minutes later followed by a succession of stones at the window that I called the police yet again and whilst waiting for them to attend opened the envelope and found the contents.
Thank goodness I had the presence of mind to photograph the letter at the time as after handing it over to the police I have not seen it again even though I have requested its return - it is after all evidence.
It has gone to POPF heaven (property other than property found) along with all the other evidence I have submitted over the years. What a surprise!
My police force did not even have the presence of mind to 'fingerprint' the letterbox until I pointed out to them it might contain some clues!
However, 'la fille mal gardee' (our main suspect) was arrested and interviewed and denied all knowledge even though a police statement says that a grainy image of a female resembling her passing the door was captured on CCTV at the time.
Not my CCTV I might add as mine didn't cover the side door and the police by this time had already removed their camera system as it was 'not capturing good enough images'.
So where was this mysterious CCTV located?
Obviously pointing to my house and not from it?
Watching from a distance my movements but maybe not the movements of others?
When those questions were asked of the police - nobody had the answers.NOBODY EVER HAD THE ANSWERS!
And what action was taken over this petrol bomb threat?
Nothing...Zilch...No Action....
I was told to contact the Crime Prevention Department of Durham Constabulary and they advised me to buy a fire extinguisher and a safety ladder............. I'm disabled.
What a farce!!!!!
There was no mention of a fireproof letter box being provided as is standard procedure in these kind of cases and given the history of the place and the amount of incidents that had transpired thus far, it should have been a matter of emergency, but no, I was left to soldier on and for the most part on my own.
Friends from another village and members of NFHiB
(Neighbours From Hell in Britain (http://www.nfh.org.uk/) website were my only confidants and saviours.
Not the inhabitants of West Cornforth who were hoping against hope that I would just go and let them go back to their apathy.
Not Durham Constabulary who were adding to my suffering by being
incompetent, ill-prepared and negligent.
Not Sedgefield Borough Council who were still insisting they didn't owe me a duty of care.
All of the major players in this travesty had a choice to do something pro-active and they chose to let sleeping doggies lie, and lie they did.
I didn't have any choices but to battle on, often close to exhaustion, getting no respite from the window smashing night after night sometimes three or four times a night and fighting ill health with an immune deficiency disease to boot.
I couldnt just go as was suggested by all the multi-agencies who all said they were doing their best (they never say they are doing their worst) but in practise were having no impact upon the situation other than to leave me feeling helpless and unwanted.
This was after all, my home,my sanctuary, my place at the end of the day where I am supposed to feel safe and relaxed but in reality was rapidly turning into my prison.
Even Victim Support advised me not to leave the house alone.
So if I ran out of milk, I ran out of milk unless I could get someone from another village miles away to drive over and bring me some or get a taxi the 100 yards to the Co-op.
This was living Blair-style?
Part of his great Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan encouraging people like you and me to 'take a stand'.
But who stands with you when you stand alone?
You may aspire to become Saviour of the World Tony - but you never saved me!
Its just one big joke only I'm not laughing.
No one cares about the real casualties of war, social or otherwise.
We are just a means to an end, part of the policy-makers manifesto for power,
the patsys, the beleaguered, the deserted, the used,
the conned ......................the voters for monkeys.
And nothing has changed.
