A blind man has been left feeling unsafe in his own home after it was broken into twice in less than two months.
Frank Mearns, who is registered blind and lacks almost all vision, returned to his Dundee home from a meal out on Friday to find it had been broken into – for the second time in six weeks.
Robbers left Frank ‘with nothing’
The thieves took several items of value from the flat in Ancrum Court, Lochee, including a TV set and Frank’s collection of watches.
He said: “I’m sitting here with nothing now.
“I can’t afford to replace the stuff that was stolen and I don’t have home insurance or any of that stuff, I don’t know about all of that.
“I feel so insecure here, it’s like I need to get out of this house because I’m honestly scared that this is going to keep happening to me.”
Thieves may be targeting blindness
The break-in is the second that Frank has experienced recently, with his home also being ransacked on April 27.
He said: “I’m not sure if they’re targeting me because of my blindness, if that’s it, I don’t know.
“People around here know me and they do know that I’m blind, so it’s a possibility.
“I live in the multis and there are people coming in and out of here all the time.
“I’m really worried about it because there’s still that fear that they could come back.
“They took my personal watches and my TV set, they wrecked my DJ decks as well, totally ruined my whole flat.”
‘I didn’t bother to call them the second time’
Frank contacted the police about the first burglary, however when this was unsuccessful he decided against reporting the second break-in.
He said: “I called them at about 8pm or 8.30pm after I got back and they didn’t show up for ages, it took a while.
“I didn’t bother to call them the second time, it just didn’t feel worth it.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Around 10pm on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, officers received report of a break-in at a property in Ancrum Court, Dundee.
“Inquiries into the incident are ongoing.”