Burglars attack father and six-year-old with a machete

SPANIARD Joaquín, and his six-yearold son will take a long time to forget the ordeal they went through on the evening of January 5.

They were driving into their property located in La Huerta urbanisation in Muchamiel after watching the Three Kings parade in Campello when they surprised two thieves coming out of their home who, on seeing the car enter the driveway, hopped into the garden of the house next door to escape.

Joaquin phoned the police and then, with his son in the car, drove around the block to see if he could spot the burglars. He did encounter them coming out of yet another property and was able to take a photograph of them. The pair saw him do this and immediately pounced on the car, with one of them trying to open the door while the other one attempted to smash the windscreen with a machete.

Luckily, the assailants failed to open the car door or break the windshield. The victim, who had alerted 112 of the robbery, was able to escape by spinning his car around. The thieves also fled the opposite direction.

Guardia Civil were quickly on the scene, and thanks to photo provided by Joaquin, they were able to send out complete descriptions to other units.

Joaquin, who had to be administered a tranquiliser after the ordeal, later told reporters: "It was a very traumatic situation, especially as my sixyear-old son was in the car, screaming his head off."

As well as making an official complaint due to the burglary, he is also going to report the pair for attempted murder.

Meanwhile other residents of La Huerta urbanisation, fed up of the constant robberies, demanded that Muchamiel council open a permanent police post in a nearby social centre which has adequate space for this purpose.

This was not the first time they had made this request. Last September they handed the mayor a request for a stronger police presence signed by 300 people, as the area had suffered 23 burglaries in a three-month period.

The only response they received was a minimal increase in police patrols. They said they felt burglars were constantly observing them, stressing the fact that the criminals knew full well the police response time was 15 to 20 minutes, giving them plenty of time to escape.

Feeling defenceless, the 100 residents of La Huerta formed a WhatsApp group where they can warn others of anything unusual in the urbanisation.

At the time of going to press, the Guardia Civil had not made public if the assailants had been detained or not.