Raiders beat former footballer with iron bar

A FORMER footballer beaten with an iron bar by masked raiders who broke into his home will need surgery to repair a fractured cheekbone.

Dick Habbin, 61, who played for Rotherham United as a striker for two years from 1976 also played for Doncaster Rovers, will need a metal plate inserting in his face because of the severity of the damage, after a blow from a 2ft iron bar.

The robbers broke through two doors to enter his bungalow in a remote setting at Holling Moor Lane, Wickersley, Rotherham, as he and his wife Jenny slept.

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They were able to call 999 before the criminals got into the bedroom, but the raiders and demanded money and access to a safe. Even though Mr Habbin complied and they got about 2,000 and jewellery worth up to 20,000, one hit him with the bar, leaving him covered in blood and dazed on the floor.

Then they went on to demand access to "the guns", something the couple do not have and which made Mr Habbin believe the offenders may have targeted the wrong address.

"The police...have told me they have not had anything like this level of violence in this area for years."

Detectives say the trio were tracked by police dogs and had gone for "some distance" across country, possibly to a waiting vehicle in the early hours of last Wednesday.

Anyone with information can contact police on 0114 2202020.