A FORMER High Sheriff of Kent who was clubbed by a burglar fears that homeowners are increasingly at risk of attack.

Robin Baker White, of Street End Place, Street End, near Canterbury, confronted two masked men trying to break into his home.

The 71-year-old, who was High Sheriff in 1996, says he was bludgeoned over the forehead with a blunt instrument after opening his conservatory door to investigate a noise.

It is the third time in three years that Mr Baker White and his wife, Diane, have been the victim of crime in their home. The couple have already lost thousands of pounds worth of family furniture and heirlooms.

Now he says they struggle to get a proper night's sleep despite protecting their property with extra anti-intruder measures.

In a previous incident 18 months ago, Mr Baker White grabbed his shotgun to confront intruders on his stairs as they went about ransacking his house. As they fled, he fired a warning shot in the air but subsequently found himself the subject of police attention.

He said: "I had my gun confiscated for three months so I had no protection and began to wonder who was the criminal.

"What concerns us most about this latest incident is that these men tried to get into our house at 9.30pm when they must have known we were likely to still be up and about.

"Heaven knows what they would have done if they had got in, probably tied us up and that it a frightening thought. As it was it was a very traumatic experience for me and my wife, who was watching as I was hit.

"My glasses came off and blood was running down my face but fortunately they ran off."

The two men escaped in the couple's Subaru estate car.

Now Mr Baker White says he fears an increasingly lawless society where homeowners have fewer rights to protect themselves and their property. He stressed: "I have to say the police officers who have come to our house have always responded promptly and been very polite and helpful. But I suspect that policing has become all about statistics and meeting targets, which disguise the real and worrying situation.

"It seems that there is an increasing and disturbing growth in violence being used against people in their homes. There is talk of more police officers on the beat, but where are they?

"The public needs to see evidence of it and stiffer sentencing for those thugs who are prepared to use violence against innocent people."