Rob Simpson was alerted to a teenager hanging around his Eastwoodbury Avenue home, near Southend Airport, and confronted the boy who claimed that he was “looking for an alleyway” by the side of the property.
However, Rob claims the youngster had bypassed his gate with a lock on it to access a new bike bought for his son by the side of his home, causing Rob to order him to leave his property.
Broken – Rob’s wrist (Image: Rob Simpson)
The boy then “threw a stepladder” at him, smashing his wrist before fleeing the scene at around 5pm on Thursday.
Rob said: “He was looking at my son’s new bike and I am 99 per cent sure our gate was locked. He unlocked it and walked in.
“I went out there and he said he was looking for an alleyway to the train station and I said ‘don’t insult my intelligence’, he got nasty when he realised he couldn’t talk his way out of it.”
Following the incident, Rob had to spend hours in hospital on Friday, leaving his wrist in a support glove pending further X-rays, though he has been told to treat it as if broken.
“My neighbours were all there, he was off into the night and he didn’t show up again last night but we are keeping an eye out,” he added.
The dad-of-four moved to the Southend street in 2018, remarking that the area was “idyllic, quiet and friendly”, though it has had more issues in the past year.
He said: “There has been a sort of dive around here, we have had a couple of incidents and when we first came here it was idyllic and quiet, everyone is friendly.
“You can talk to your neighbours and in the last year or so, it seems to have taken a turn.”
Anyone with information around this incident should contact police on 101.
Essex Police was contacted for comment.