‘I’m getting flashbacks of his face’
A VULNERABLE woman has been left ‘terrified to be in her own home’ after a masked burglar stormed in under the guise of ‘collecting an Amazon parcel’ before stealing her phone – and a vital piece of medical equipment.
Julie Kerry, of Elms Close in Whitefield, says that a man dressed in black came to her home at around 8.40pm on February 24, innocently asking if she had taken in an Amazon parcel for his father.
The 61-year-old mum answered the door but the man then attacked her.
He ‘put his hand over Julie’s mouth’ and barged in, pushing her over an arm of a sofa.
The thug then ran off with her phone and blood machine, which Julie – a diabetic – needs to use four times a day to make sure her blood sugar does not drop to dangerous levels, potentially putting her life at risk.
“A knock came to the front door, I went to open it and said ‘who is it?’” Julie told the M.E.N.
“There’s a couple of families that live nearby and they have sons. The man at the door said ‘I’m wondering if you have got an Amazon parcel for my dad?’
“He sounded like he was only a young lad so I opened the door, he was dressed all in black, with a big hood and had a black mask on. He was around 5ft 8ins and was in his 20s, I’d say. Tall and skinny.
“He asked again, ‘have you got an
Amazon parcel for my dad?’
“I said I hadn’t and he asked if anyone else that lives here could have taken it in. Like a fool, I said ‘I live on my own’ and he saw an opportunity.”
Julie told of the horror that ensued, saying: “He put his hand over my mouth to shut me up because I was screaming. He pushed me over the arm of one of the sofas and picked up my phone and my blood machine.
“I’m diabetic, so I use that machine at least four times a day. I need to check my blood sugar in case it drops too low because I’m on my own. I was terrified.”
Now, Julie has been left ‘having flashbacks’ of the experience, leading her to seek medication.
She says residents in her wardencontrolled neighbourhood are now living in fear too.
“I have had to go to the doctor and get medication because I keep getting flashbacks of his face at the door, pushing past me when I go to bed at night,” says Julie.
“All the neighbours are worried now, none of them want to answer the door either. I had to stay at my son’s house for the rest of the week. I kept saying I wanted to move but if I move it will just be the same, this happens everywhere. I don’t feel safe in my own home. I have a camera on my doorbell now so I can see whoever is at the door.”
Julie is hoping that a member of the public will come forward with information that might help catch the culprit.
Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for comment.
All the neighbours are worried now, none of them want to answer the door
Julie Kerry