Couple left shaken after rock attack at home

A retired couple in Startforth fear their forever home is being targeted after rocks were thrown through their windows late on Saturday night.

Jeff Garry, 67, and Jennifer Wood, 62, had just gone to bed when their home on the Castle Croft development was attacked.

“We just heard a massive crash,” said Jennifer.

“We thought it was something coming off the roof.

“Then we came downstairs into the kitchen and saw the glass everywhere.

“At first, I thought the lightbulbs must have shattered or something, but then we looked at the window and it dawned on us.”

A second rock was thrown at the lounge window, shattering the glass but failing to crash through into the house.

In a sinister development, it appears that the attack was carefully planned, with the vandals using a wifi jammer to shut down the house’s Ring doorbell.

“We have the footage running 24/7,” said Jeff.

“You look an hour earlier and you can see two people passing the house.

“But the section where these attackers should have been on the film wasn’t there.

“We looked a bit deeper and it turns out they can use a jammer.

“This was obviously pre-planned.

“We think there were two of them throwing the rocks, because they went for both the windows but we only heard the one crash.”

The attack caused damage to the property but fortunately no injuries – although the couple are concerned that the consequences could have been much worse as 10inx15in lumps of rock crashed through the windows.

“If anyone had been sitting at our kitchen table where the rock came through, it could have had tragic consequences,” Jennifer said.

“The lights were still on, they couldn’t have known there was nobody downstairs, but they still threw the rocks through the windows.

“I don’t think anyone would survive being hit in the head with something that big.”

Now, as well as the cost and inconvenience of repairing the damage – Jeff was sawing wood and boarding up windows at 3am on the night of the attack – there is constant anxiety about what might happen next.

“They are out there and I find that scary,” said Jeff.

“The police can’t find anybody, there are no witnesses to date.

“We’re still in shock, we can’t sleep at night because we don’t know if they’re coming back.

“The whole scenario is terrifying.

“We can’t feel comfortable in our own home.”

A police spokesperson confirmed that officers had attended the incident on Saturday evening.

“Suspects are believed to have thrown rocks through the downstairs window of a property, causing them to smash,” a statement read.

“Anyone with any information that could identify the suspects should contact police online at durham.police.uk quoting crime reference number CRI00701176.”