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A have-a-go hero who saw off a burglar using a pickaxe shovel says the ordeal has ruined his life.
Army veteran Alfred Eyles used his soldier’s instincts to good effect when Martin Airey broke into his house in Studd Hill, Herne Bay.
The widower – then aged 84 – swung the menacing gardening tool at Airey after pretending to be asleep in his bungalow.
But the ordeal has had a lasting effect on the pensioner, who has since been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
“That man ruined my life, he really did,” he told KentOnline.
“I hardly go to bed anymore and sleep in an armchair with a firemen’s axe at the door. The slightest noise wakes me up, and I’m always on alert.
“I’ve got cameras showing who’s at the door, and I’ll only open it on the latch if I don’t know who they are.”
“Being a victim stays with you and I still think about it now..."
Father-of-three Alfred’s home was targeted in June 2018 by serial burglar Airey, who the same day ransacked a home in Hanover Street as the elderly homeowner hid under her bed covers.
The psychological effects of the break-in soon took their toll physically on Alfred, who served in the Royal Army Service Corps.
“About a month after it happened I temporarily lost the use of my legs and didn’t know why,” he said.
“I had to go to hospital and had a brain scan, and they said I was suffering from PTSD. Even now I struggle to walk and have a carer who comes in.
“It’s had a devastating effect on me, that’s for sure.”
Alfred spoke to KentOnline as it was revealed thousands of burglaries across the county go unsolved.
The pensioner was one of the few to receive justice when Airey was jailed for six years in November 2018 for the two break-ins.
But he says he feels for victims who do not have the same sense of closure.
“These burglars are rotten gits, and they shouldn’t get away with it like most of them are,” he said. “Being a victim stays with you and I still think about it now. I also think about if he’ll come back when he’s released, but this time I’d kill him for what he’s done to me.”
