Manchester Evening News

Mystery over ‘Donna’s bill’ graffiti threat

- By SOPHIE HALLERICHA­RDS

THUGS sprayed the words ‘PAY YOUR BILL DONNA’ on the side of an innocent man’s house – before cutting the brakes to his van and torching a neighbour’s vehicle.

The man, who has asked not to be named through fear of reprisal, says he is ‘too scared to sleep’ following the campaign of terror on a quiet Tameside street.

Earlier this week, he discovered the words ‘PAY YOUR BILL YOU B ***** D’ had been daubed on the side of his house.

His van’s tyres had been let down and his brakes had been cut. The vehicle had also been doused in petrol.

Thugs later set fire to a neighbour’s van, which was parked outside the man’s house.

The man scrubbed the graffiti off his wall, only for the vandals to return and spray the words ‘PAY YOUR BILL DONNA’ on the side of his house. He has resorted to putting up a sign reading: “DONNA DOES NOT LIVE HERE.”

The intended target is believed to live elsewhere and the man is thought to be the victim of a misguided hate campaign.

Fearful of another attack, he said he has been forced to seal his letter box and is taking it in turns with his nephew to guard the house.

His wife is said to be ‘beside herself.’

“It all started when I came out to go to work and realised my tyres had been let down on my work van,” the victim told the M.E.N.

“I looked around and the same thing had happened to next door’s van, which is parked very close to my house. When I walked round to his, there was spray paint on my wall saying ‘pay your bills you ******* .’ I was dumbstruck because I don’t owe anyone anything or have any problems with anyone. “We went through cleaning the wall and trying to work out what was on. But in the middle of the night, someone came along and torched next door’s van, poured petrol on mine and spray painted the wall again, this time saying ‘pay your bill Donna.’ This is a case of mistaken identity. Someone has obviously upset someone and I am stuck in the middle of it. “I have had to put a sign on the door saying ‘Donna doesn’t live here’ as I am expecting to be firebombed again.” Police said: “Officers were called at around 12.45am on Friday, July 20, to reports of arson. Emergency services attended and found a white Peugeot Boxer van on fire. It is being treated as arson.”

 ??  ?? The message painted on the victim’s wall and, below, the torched van
The message painted on the victim’s wall and, below, the torched van

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom