Roydon couple, near Diss, offer thanks to emergency services as they outline burglary impact on their lives

The victims of a burglary have spoken of the struggle to rebuild their lives after having their home in Roydon ransacked.

Philip Murton, 82, had a heart attack shortly after returning home with wife Pam Murton, 81, and finding they had been burgled.

Mrs Murton said: “We had a wooden board nailed over the French doors where he got in, and when my husband was in hospital I was putting a wooden wedge under the bedroom door every night before I went to sleep.

“People just don’t know the impact it has had on our lives. I don’t think he got a long enough sentence really – he gets free heat, free food and is enjoying life.

“He should be made to work to pay off the value of what he stole. My husband and I still work on our farm in our 80s, but I don’t suppose he has ever worked a day in his life.

“The gold bracelet he took was given to me by my husband more than 50 years ago, and the police say that it has probably been melted down now.

“Two weeks after, my husband still couldn’t sit in the lounge, because the burglar had been in there.

“The first night he was home, he wanted to sleep downstairs, but I said no. We don’t sleep much now anyway. Any little noise and I’m up searching the house.

“It’s been such a difficult time for us, but I wanted to thanks the police and the ambulance staff and our children for everything they’ve done, because they have all been amazing.”

Henry Smith, 28, formerly of Tawneys Ride, Sudbury, now c/o HMP, was sentenced to a total of 40 months for burglary at Ipswich Crown Court on January 18, after police matched his DNA to a crowbar he left at the property.

Police arrested him at an address in Sudbury, around a month after the burglary.

The gold bracelet, along with a gold watch, an unknown amount of cash and other assorted items were stolen by Smith after he broke in to the Roydon property in November. None of these have never been recovered.

“They wouldn’t have caught him, if not for the police and my children,” she said.

“My son and daughter came straight over as soon as it happened and found the crowbar sitting on some towels.

“They put it in a polythene bag, making sure not to touch it, so they could get evidence from it. Then my daughter phoned the ambulance for my husband when he started feeling unwell.

“The police were there so quickly and were so helpful, and an officer from Diss police dropped by in the days afterwards to check on us and see how we were doing. I can’t thank them enough.

“The ambulance workers have been fantastic too in treating my husband’s heart attack just after we came home that night, and helping me, as I’ve had loads of nosebleeds ever since, which they say is due to stress.

“The ambulance crew came and treated me at home and stayed with me all morning.”

Speaking after the sentencing, PC Oliver Addley said: “Smith targeted the home of the couple and his actions have caused them significant distress.

“We hope that the work to bring him to justice will serve as a warning to others that we will pursue
this type of crime as we know the weight of impact it can have on victims.”