AN elderly man who was left bedridden after falling 40ft into a quarry has been terrorised by thugs who broke into his home looking for cash.
Alan Dewhirst, 77, of Newhill Road, Monk Bretton, survived the fall in March, but suffered a broken pelvis, broken arm, broken ribs and a punctured lung.
He has been in and out of hospital over the last few months with recurring water infections, but was in bed at home when at least two burglars broke in to his bungalow at about 6am on Sunday.
He is confused and doesn't remember much about the incident, except that one of the burglars said 'where is your f****g money?' and that he was very frightened.
The yobs ransacked the place, but scarpered without taking anything. Alan's brother Peter said he had not thought to press his 'panic button' which would have alerted someone to what was happening.
He said: "It's funny, but since this happened Alan has been a bit more positive. He's tried to sit up and he's a bit more chatty, though his memory isn't as good as it used to be.
"I think it is the shock to be honest. I'm just thankful they didn't beat him black and blue. He's not able to move or defend himself. It's unbelievable that there are people about who would do this to an old man who is bedridden. He could have had a seizure or a heart attack.
"They've terrorised him. I think they have abused him, whether it's physically or verbally, we don't know."
Peter, 81, of Lundhill Farm Mews, Hemingfield, said police believe the burglars got into Alan's garden through his neighbours' garden, and peered into the spare bedroom window, leaving glove marks which were found during a forensic examination.
They then tried to smash the sliding doors into Alan's bedroom, possibly unaware that he was in bed as the curtains were drawn.
When they failed, they made their way around to the bathroom window, which they smashed and climbed through. They searched a couple of drawers in the spare bedroom before making their way into Alan's bedroom where they shouted at him for his money.
Alan told them he didn't have any, but they proceeded to rifle through his drawers and turning his bedroom upside down while he lay helplessly in bed. Police also found evidence of a footprint in the kitchen doorway, but do not think the burglars went into that room.
Peter is now wary of Alan being left alone overnight in his condition. He had considered caring for Alan at his home in Hemingfield but said it would not be possible because of the stairs.
He said Alan has carers who visit four times a day, and his family visit every day. Peter said before the fall, Alan was a normal bloke who was very fit, very active and had looked after himself since his wife died in 2003.
He joined the National Council for the Divorced, Separated and Widowed which is where he met his fiancee Sylvia Payne.
Sylvia, 69, of Kendray, said: "Alan was doing grand after the fall, there were signs of improvement. He could walk with a frame from the kitchen to the bathroom, but the water infections set him back. And then this happened. They are picking on vulnerable people. He is bed-bound, he can't get up and run around after them, or bash them one."
