The family of an 80-year-old ex-serviceman brutally attacked by burglars have released graphic pictures of his injuries, saying they are “traumatised” that their lively great-grandfather has been targeted.
Well-wishers raised more than £15,000 in 48 hours for Tommy Ward, who served in the armed forces as a member of the Norfolk and Northumberland Fusiliers.
The widowed father of four was beaten and left for dead with a fractured skull, broken ribs, fingers and jaw, as well as severe bruising. He also had his life savings stolen by the burglars, who targeted his home in Maltby, Rotherham.
Ward’s family released pictures on Facebook on Monday showing the extent of the retired miner’s injuries as he lay in his hospital bed, where he is in a serious but stable condition.
Jackie Perry, 52, Ward’s daughter, told Sky News: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw him. He was unrecognisable. The family have been sleeping with their mobile phones next to their pillows because we are so worried about him. Who could do this to anybody, let alone an 80-year-old man?”
Perry told reporters that she and her siblings, Norman, 57, Linda, 56, and Sean, 44, had been hoping to persuade their father to move to sheltered housing, but he was determined to stay in the home where he has lived for 30 years.
His daughter-in-law, Sarah Ward, said the family had been at Ward’s bedside constantly. “He’s awake but he can only just open his eyes, which are still very swollen,” she said. “He knows we are there because he is able to squeeze our hands. The hospital staff have been fantastic and he’s received great care but he is still very, very ill.
“We are all very traumatised. We can’t get our heads around why someone would be so violent to such a frail man.”
Two men, both 19, were arrested last week on suspicion of attempted murder and burglary and have been released on bail.
DI Richard Partridge, leading the investigation for South Yorkshire police, said: “This elderly man remains very unwell in hospital and has not yet regained consciousness, so it is vital we piece together what might have taken place before he was found injured at his home.
“I’d urge everyone living in the local area to cast their minds back to last week – Salisbury Road is often quite busy, with buses and cars passing through – and consider whether there was anything out of the ordinary or suspicious.”
Police have appealed for information about a safe stolen in the raid, described as light grey with a key lock and weighing around 7kg (15lbs).
Ward is believed to have kept all his money at home, with his daughter-in-law describing him as “old-fashioned and of the generation that sometimes didn’t bother with banks”.
