Man left needing surgery after being attacked with shooting stick in his home in Rugby

The incident took place between 9.30am and 10am on Tuesday this week.

John – we have been asked not to use his surname – had been on the phone to his son at his home off Dunchurch Road. He heard a noise in the hallway and found someone had broken the glass of the front door and entered his home. John was then beaten with a shooting stick, leaving him with injuries to his head and hand.

His wife Alison said: “He was hit over the head, and I think the person must have kept on hitting him because John was left unconscious in a pool of blood in the hall.

“Due to a quirk of luck our newspaper delivery had been delayed, and it was Mrs Arul from Kingston News who came to deliver it at just before 10am. She noticed the door and found John, and called the police and paramedics. If she hadn’t been there I think my husband might have died.

“They turned up in two minutes and have been excellent, as have the staff at the hospital at Walsgrave.

“The emergency services, doctors and nurses, and the rest of the NHS, plus our neighbours and the community have been excellent.

“It’s shocking because we apparently live in a safe area, and in all the years we’ve been here I’ve never heard of something like this.”

John was set to undergo surgery today (Wednesday) to deal with some of his injuries.

Andy Holloway from Warwickshire Police CID said: "We are extremely keen to speak to anyone who recognises the shooting stick as we believe it may have been stolen from a nearby property prior to the assault.

"We are also keen to speak to people who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area at the time. Any information, no matter how small, could be significant to our investigation."

Anyone with information should call Warwickshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting incident number 102 of 22 January.

A 32-year-old man from Rugby has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary and section 18 wounding.