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A Sheffield woman has spoken of her disgust after three masked men broke into her granddad’s house and assaulted him, before stealing a ‘significant amount of money’ from him.

The terrifying ordeal took place at around 7.10pm on Saturday, December 3, 2022, just over an hour after Keeley Graves left her granddad’s property with her children to return to their Sheffield home. The property was secure when the home invasion took place, which was carried out by three men wearing ski masks and dark clothing who gained access by breaking a door lock.

Keeley and her family now believe the masked raiders, one of whom was armed with a baton, may have been watching the property, choosing to prey upon her 82-year-old granddad when they knew he would be alone.

“I’ve got two young children, and if they were waiting for us to leave, what’s to say they haven’t come to look through the window and have seen my kids or have seen my kids going to the car? Either way, they’ve been watching, and it’s very, very sickening,” said Keeley.

The three men, who were wearing all black, had their faces covered and were armed with a baton, assaulted the victim and left in a Seat car that was captured on CCTV parked nearby. This CCTV image has been released by police, who have launched an investigation into the home invasion

Keeley has described how once inside, the masked raiders worked as a team, with one pinning her granddad to the sofa and assaulting him, while a second man ransacked the ground floor of the property and a third did the same on the first floor.

“They took everything they could...jewellery, a significant amount of cash, a safe containing birth certificates and my grandma’s death certificate, a jar of coins, and even a gift bag of unwritten Christmas cards,” said Keeley.

Keeley said that one of the men even attempted to take an urn containing her grandmother’s ashes, but put it back after her granddad explained what was inside – leading the family to believe that the raiders, who remained silent throughout, ‘must understand English’. Her courageous granddad, who worked as an engineer until his retirement, also managed to retrieve his watch from one of the masked raiders.

The incident is being investigated by police, who believe the trio of burglars fled the scene in a Seat car driven by a fourth man that was captured on CCTV parked nearby.

Keeley said her granddad has been left shaken by the incident; and while he has not been left with serious injuries ‘it’s more the mental and emotional impact, and the fact it could have been a lot worse’ that continues to distress the pensioner. The raid took place at his home in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, but Keeley said the men responsible ‘could be from anywhere’.

Keeley has set up a GoFundMe page which you can visit here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/grandad-robbed-of-life-savings-please-help?qid=a5290f8aec739ec3be3a42f2d97f750f in a bid to replace some of the cash and items her granddad has lost in the raid.

“I wanted to try and give him something back. He’s worked hard his whole life. If people could give a couple of pounds then it would be nice because it would give him something,” she said.

Derbyshire Police have launched a public appeal for information and are asking anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident to get in touch, in particular anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage that may have captured images of the three men, to contact them on 101, using reference 22*708386

'It's sickening' - Sheffield mum's horror after raiders assault her elderly granddad and burgle home