Middlesbrough grandparents left frightened after shocking brick assault

An elderly couple in Middlesbrough have been left frightened after a shocking assault that left a 79-year-old man unconscious after being hit by a brick outside his own home.

Bricks were hurled at the couple’s home in Hemlington, smashing the front window, damaging the back door and leaving the man in hospital with a head injury.

His 95-year-old wife narrowly avoided being hit when another brick was hurled through a window.

The grandparents said they are now living in fear and "waiting for something to happen”.

Cleveland Police is investigating the "distressing" attack, which happened on Saturday at around 6:30pm.

The man was knocked out, after he was hit in the head with a house brick, as he went to investigate a “bang” at his door. Credit: Gazette Media

The woman said she had been left feeling "like a prisoner" in her home.

She said: “I’m getting too old to be uprooting myself. It’s my home but now it’s got to be my prison.

“I can’t go out, I can’t go far, my family are afraid to come here because of leaving their car out there. It’s terrible.”

The man described the estate as “like the wild west” with children, aged between nine and 18, involved in anti-social behaviour.

Cleveland Police said it happened on what is known locally as "mischief night", during which its officers dealt with "a considerable number of incidents".

Chief Inspector Daryll Tomlinson from Cleveland Police said: "We’re providing support to the couple after this shocking and horrendous incident."The couple now live with the traumatic emotional aftermath of what happened to them and the people who did this deserve to be held responsible."

Officers are appealing for anyone in the local community to come forward and provide information.