A BURGLARY victim who scared off his intruders while holding a sword said the incident had left him emotionally scarred.

In March Adam Winch’s home in Shores Green, Witney, was targeted by a group of masked robbers at 1am.

The gang got into the house, where Mr Winch lives alone, by using a sledgehammer on the doors but were confronted by Mr Winch holding an ornamental sword.

Mr Winch, 45, said: “They were a professional gang, they were all balaclavaed up and extremely violent and extremely frightening.

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“I was in a panic and I grabbed the sword off the mantlepiece. When they came in I was on the phone to the police and that’s what scared them off.

“I’ve got post-traumatic stress disorder because of this incident. I’m a bag of nerves, I can’t sleep. I’m up at the slightest bump.

“I don’t feel safe in my own home, I can’t even open the windows.

“It’s affected my work and business because I’ve had to take time off.”

Last week Nolan Haworth, 27, of Ribston Close, Banbury, and Ben Plant, 28, of North Street, Banbury, admitted burglary at Oxford Crown Court. Haworth was jailed for three years and four months and Plant received a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Mr Winch, a tree surgeon and father of three, said he was disappointed by the sentences and the fact he did not get any compensation.

Additional compensation is available for victims who have been injured in a crime, but for loss of property the only compensation available is through the courts.

He said: “I intend on making a complaint to the Crown Prosecution Service. I feel that, as the victim, I’ve been completely and utterly ignored.

“I feel cheated and insulted.

“They did £5,000 worth of damage to the property and I have not had any compensation.

“I just don’t see the point of the law. You may as well not bother going to the police at all.”


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