Man, 74, shot with crossbow bolt as he adjusts Sky dish

A PENSIONER has suffered life- changing injuries and is in a critical condition after being shot with a crossbow yesterday.

The 74-year-old man, who has not been named, was adjusting his satellite dish outside his home in a remote part of Anglesey, North Wales, at 12.30am when he was attacked.

He managed to make his way back inside the property, which is three miles south of Holyhead, in the north-east of the island, and raise the alarm. He was taken to Bangor Hospital, where his condition was described as ‘critical’ last night.

Police said they were baffled by the apparently motiveless attack. They were called by hospital staff who had concluded that the man had sustained injuries consistent with being shot with a crossbow-type weapon.

Detective Chief Inspector Brian Kearney, of North Wales Police, said: ‘An elderly member of our community has received horrendous, lifechanging injuries as a result of this incident, the motive for which is totally unknown. The victim

‘Horrendous injuries’

was outside his home address adjusting his Sky satellite dish when he was shot. The property is in an extremely remote location, in an idyllic part of rural Wales.

‘He managed to make his way into his home where the alarm was raised and colleagues from the Welsh Ambulance Service transported him to hospital in Bangor where he remains in a critical condition.’

Mr Kearney said the man’s family had been left ‘devastated’ by the attack. He appealed for anyone who was in the area, between 6pm and 4am yesterday, who might have witnessed anything unusual, or who may have private CCTV or dashcam footage to contact them.

Anglesey councillor Trefor Lloyd Hughes said the community had been left ‘stunned’ by the incident.

Under the Crossbows Act 1987, the weapons can be bought by anyone aged over 18 and buyers do not have to go through additional background checks. It is, however, illegal to hunt with a crossbow.