Husband and wife fight off armed gang in ‘terrifying’ invasion while daughters home

A brave husband and wife fought off a gang of armed robbers who tried and failed to invade their home.

The couple from Oadby fought off three men, one with a knuckleduster, late in the evening when the trio barged into their house on Ringers Close after the husband answered the doorbell. One of the intruders demanded: “Where is your safe?” The husband denied having one and yelled for his wife and daughters to call the police.

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Two of the attackers, Benjamin Cope and Cameron Wright, were identified by their fingerprints left at the scene, but the third man remains unknown. Cope and Wright, who first said they didn’t do it but then admitted they did, were in court on Tuesday. Wright, 28, owned up to trying to break in and having a weapon, while Cope, 33, admitted he tried to break in too. The judge saw a video from the doorbell camera that showed one of the men covering the camera before they all rushed in, LeicestershireLive. The video caught the fight at the door, but then it moved inside where the camera couldn’t see.

The husband told the court: “They asked, ‘Where is your safe?’ and I replied I didn’t have a safe. One raised his fists and the men tried to gain entry so I started to push them out of the doorway. I shouted, ‘Phone the police’, hoping my daughters would hear me. All of them attacked me.” His wife said she’s been really scared since it happened and didn’t want to go out for weeks. She still gets scared when someone comes to the door.

Paul Prior, defending Wright from Barrow Upon Soar, said: “He’s apologetic for what he did. He’s remorseful and I anticipate that seeing that video again has brought about nothing but guilt and shame.” Emma Fielding, defending Cope from Newark, highlighted that her client is a young man supporting his family and asked the court to consider the impact on his family if he was given an immediate prison sentence.

The judge praised the bravery of the couple for fighting off the three men, stating: “We’ve all watched the video footage – it must have been terrifying.” He added: “They were simply enjoying a quiet evening at home, only for you two to come along and attempt to invade their home. B

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