General Chat

My Father died 12/6/1990. My Mother, now a widow, lived alone.

My Brother and I looked in occasionally. Mother cried easily after passing of Father.

Mother used to hang her washing out in the back garden, and keep her garden tidy.

In the summer she kept her back boor, which opened on to her kitchen, open.

One day Mother answered a knock at her door. The caller was an adult male who

engaged Mother in conversation for 15 /20 minutes.

When the "conversation" was over Mother went upstairs. While she had been

talking / distracted at her front door....someone had entered her house through the

kitchen door from her garden, walked through the kitchen to the stairs (which were

behind the front door, and went upstairs and ransacked all the drawers :-| :-| :-|

He or she had even been under the bed where there was a suit case containing

documents and insurance policy's and her PO savings book :-0 :-0 :-0

The perpetrator was never found. Feel sure it was a near neighbour :-( :-(

Mother died the following year.

My wife and I saw to the removal of Mother's clothes and furniture from her rented

semi-detached house. The last duty I had was to hand the house keys in at the

rent office..

That same night someone burned her garden shed down !!!

Obviously there's always been thieves but I do feel society as a whole is slowly losing it's morals and ethics.

Thank you for your response Caroline.

Said intruder could have trashed her house, assaulted her :-0 :-0

In her own home.....in broad daylight !!!

It's a few years ago, no not easy to dismiss from memory :-| :-|

The punishment for crimes against the elderly are not punished severely enough.

Very often the victim doesn't express their feelings in full thinking this will shield their family from more upset. This has repercussions on what can be included in the impact statements.

Time for a specialist team who can deal effectively with the victims and understand that a lot is left unsaid. The victim's mental health is often overlooked after a trauma.

Sue