AN 89-year-old woman was attacked and gagged in her Summerveld home by two men, yesterday morning.
Blue Security’s operations manager, Brian Jackson, said two robbers pounced on the grandmother after she forgot to lock the door to her garden cottage in Paddock Road at around 3.40am. “She opened her door to let her dogs out in the early hours of the morning but she forgot to lock up again.”
The two robbers entered the cottage through the unlocked door, accosted the grandmother and forced a t-shirt into her mouth to stop her from screaming. They used a fork to keep the shirt in her mouth, which led to injuries to her mouth.
“They robbed her of jewellery, her handbag and other valuables before they fled the scene,” said Jackson. A resident in the main house was woken by her screams and went to investigate. Crisis debriefers attended the scene to assist the grandmother.
“Unfortunately, the alarm system was not activated in the cottage at the time of the robbery. There was also evidence that the robbers tampered with the woman’s car, which was parked nearby,” he said.
Jackson advised residents to be vigilant when locking doors, especially at night, and in the morning before work as these are prime times for robberies.
“Criminals drive through the suburbs and look for opportunities to strike and nothing is more inviting than an unlocked, open door. We have had many cases reported to us where criminals have simply walked into a home through a door that has been left unlocked,” concluded Jackson.
