Tormented By Vandals

A DISABLED woman who had three of her vehicles trashed by vandals has suffered a stroke, and her husband has said the vandals are to blame.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th May 2003, 17:25 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 00:49 BST

Two weeks ago Bryan and Patricia Hamilton told the Herald how teenage vandals had made their lives a misery, wrecking three of their wheelchair-friendly vehicles in six months.

But now life has taken a devastating turn for the couple, who have been married for 30 years.

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Speaking from their home in Meadow Sweet Close, Durrington, Mr Hamilton said: "I am really, really annoyed.

"The doctors told me it could have been caused as a result of all the problems that have happened over the last six months. I am sure it was. I am definite about that."

Mrs Hamilton, 54, is currently in Worthing Hospital in a stable condition but it is unclear when she will be well enough to leave.

And when she does leave hospital she will probably be too poorly to return to her home.

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Mr Hamilton said: "I don't know how I am going to cope when she comes out of hospital. She may have to be cared for in a nursing home or have to go into sheltered accommodation.

"She was so stressed by what had happened.

"She used to be able to bear some weight on her legs but now she is dead from the waist down."

Mrs Hamilton, a wheelchair user, suffers from back trouble and relies on specially-adapted vehicles for transport.

The stroke left her temporarily blind and doctors have said she also has kidney problems.

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The couple's minibus, which is specially adapted to carry wheelchairs, was broken into and smashed-up just two weeks ago. It was the third time vandals had targeted them.

But things had begun to look up when a kind-hearted donor contacted the Herald and offered the Hamiltons a set of wheelchair straps for their minibus.

The donor, who did not want to be identified, also offered to swap his car, which accommodates wheelchairs, for Mr Hamilton's Vauxhall Cavalier.

Mr Hamilton said: "I would like to give him a very big thank you."

"He has done me a very, very big favour. I cannot speak too highly of him. He has been a very big help to me and I am extremely grateful."

For more on this story see this week's Worthing Herald.