Evening Telegraph (First Edition)

Ex-pat tortured to death by raiders

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A BRITISH woman has died after being tortured with a blowtorch alongside her husband in their home in South Africa.

Susan Howarth, 64, and Robert Lynn, 66, were shot at and and tied up after they were woken by masked raiders on their farm in Dullstroom.

Ms Howarth, from Southsea, Hampshire, died of her injuries on Tuesday morning after the gang dumped the couple by the side of a road.

Mr Lynn, reportedly a former electrical engineer, later described the ordeal, which took place at around 3am on Sunday.

He said: “I woke up because the dogs were barking and there was a racket at the bedroom window.

“After I stood up, I heard glass breaking. I suppose that is when they started shooting at us. I assumed they missed.

“They kept on asking where the money was. I told them that we don’t keep money but they would not believe me.”

Mr Lynn said he gave them a small amount of money and his bank cards but the couple were attacked and put in the back of a pick-up truck.

He said he believed the robbers were driving them somewhere to withdraw money but instead they were left for dead.

He said: “I crossed the road, crawling most of the way. On the other side I saw Susan, lying in a ditch. Her hands tied behind her back. She was bleeding from her head.”

A Foreign and Commonweal­th Office (FCO) spokesman said they were supporting Ms Howarth’s family.

“Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time. We are in contact with the local authoritie­s,” he added.

Meanwhile, another Briton, David Ezekiel, 60, who grew up in Stoke Newington, north-east London, is feared dead after going missing from his home in Johannesbu­rg last week.

An FCO spokesman said: “We are in contact with the South African authoritie­s and the family of a British man after he was reported missing in Johannesbu­rg.”

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 ??  ?? Johannesbu­rg
Johannesbu­rg

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