Terrified neighbours of Richard Osborn-Brooks reveal how they sleep next to weapons six years after...

The neighbours of Richard Osborn-Brooks have revealed they sleep next to weapons to protect themselves six years after he was forced to flee his family home after killing a traveller burglar.

Mr Osborn-Brooks and his wife Maureen were then forced to flee their suburban home of 42 years immediately after the attempted raid. Vincent, who was high on cocaine and heroin at the time of the attack and armed with a screwdriver, came from a large travelling community that police feared could seek retribution on the elderly couple.

Now Mr Osborn-Brooks's neighbours have spoken out six years after he and his elderly wife, who was suffering from dementia, were forced to leave without packing their things and go into hiding. The retired carpenter said: 'I go to bed every night with a heavy walking stick by the side of my bed. Most blokes I know have got sticks, they even carry them in the motor.'They tried to get him with a screwdriver and he turned the tables on them. I now have cameras at the front and at the back, my neighbour has even had people in her garden before.'

But the pensioner was forced to never return to his home in Hither Green and eventually sold the £500,000 1920s terrace, which had been shuttered up following the raid, for £100,000 under its market value in 2019. He said: 'You have a right to defend your home. His life is the most precious thing. I feel like there is allowances in the law for people who go too far. Everybody would do the same.

Neighbour Bianca Enache, 30, said she remembered how busy the quiet residential street became after the incident. 'If it is self-defence, you do what you gotta do. If you can try not to kill the person that is good, but you have to defend yourself' she said. 'We got a leaflet through the door telling us about it beforehand. On the day of the funeral there was a huge police presence.

But the pensioner had to hide his face when he evidence via videolink and it is thought he could now look totally different. 'If somebody comes into your home then they would be dealt with. What sort of evidence do you need when someone comes into your house at night', he said.

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