The cul-de-sac where crimes go unsolved

Sharon Hornsby doesn't slumber astatine nighttime and spends her days watching 4 CCTV cameras acceptable up astir her location due to the fact that she lives successful fearfulness of being burgled.

Two years ago, the 61-year-old woke successful the mediate of the nighttime to spot men wearing balaclavas entering her backmost door.

While hiding nether the covers of her furniture she called South Yorkshire Police but earlier officers arrived, the burglars entered the chamber and deed her with a shot bat.

"I was connected the telephone portion they were robbing me," says Sharon, who is disabled and has cancer. "He enactment this manus astir my neck, and the archetypal happening I thought was, my God he's going to strangle me. He took my chains from astir my neck, my rings disconnected me, and the adjacent infinitesimal the shot bat knocked maine unconscious," she said.

Nobody has been charged for the burglary.

Sharon isn't the lone 1 surviving connected her thoroughfare successful this situation. Oak Grove is simply a quiescent cul-de-sac of 14 bungalows successful Doncaster. But successful the past 18 months, residents surviving connected the thoroughfare oregon successful neighbouring streets person been burgled 10 times, with different unsolved crimes going backmost years.

Those see thieves earnestly assaulting pensioners, and stealing cars, bikes and scooters, leaving residents terrified.

"It's getting to beryllium a situation wherever radical daren't spell retired astatine night. You've got to support your oculus connected anybody that walks down the street," says Bob McGuiness, a nonmigratory and a erstwhile constabulary officer.

He says officers often don't travel retired for burglaries oregon if they do, "It's astir apt the adjacent time oregon 3 days later".

Another resident, Sylvester Watson, suffered an attempted break-in soon aft moving up from London hoping for a quieter life. He says helium present stays up until midnight retired of anxiousness that it volition hap again.

"I'm ever prepared and waiting," helium says. "It's nary mode to live".

Of the 10 burglaries by Oak Grove, lone 1 transgression has resulted successful a prosecution.

South Yorkshire Police accidental they be each burglaries and that detectives afloat investigated the break-in astatine Sharon's location but unluckily nary fishy was identified.

However the deficiency of burglaries being solved by constabulary successful the thoroughfare is indicative of a wider problem.

The fig of suspects charged for residential and commercialized burglaries successful England and Wales has fallen from 25,163 successful 2015 to 11, 271 successful 2022, BBC investigation shows.

While the full fig of recorded crimes has fallen importantly successful this period, it means the complaint of charges has fallen from 7.42% to 4.23%.

In 2 areas - West Mercia and Hampshire - forces charged suspects successful conscionable 1 successful 50 residential break-ins past year.

Diana Fawcett, main enforcement astatine the foundation Victim Support, said she is earnestly acrophobic by the plummeting complaint of charges implicit the past year.

"It shouldn't beryllium down to victims to instal CCTV connected their thoroughfare successful bid to tackle burglary - the constabulary indispensable get a grip of these crimes," she said.

In October, constabulary chiefs successful England and Wales promised to nonstop an serviceman to each burgled home.

Ms Fawcett said this is simply a "positive step" but it needed to beryllium translated into "vastly improved outcomes".

A Home Office spokesperson said falling burglary rates are "promising" but determination is "a batch much to do". They added that they welcomed the committedness from constabulary forces to nonstop an serviceman to the country of each residential burglary.

South Yorkshire Police says its officers dainty burglaries and victims seriously.

"We recognize the trauma felt by victims of burglary, particularly successful your ain home", said Detective Superintendent Jamie Henderson.

"We cognize it tin beryllium invasive and distressing, which is wherefore South Yorkshire Police ensures each residential burglaries are attended by an serviceman and a transgression country researcher truthful each lines of enquiry tin beryllium carried out".

The unit said officers are fixed a checklist erstwhile attending a burglary to guarantee that each enactment of enquiry is exhausted.

But residents of Oak Close person mislaid assurance successful officers.

"I'm terrified present due to the fact that I don't sleep," says Sharon. "When I spell to furniture I person to enactment awake each nighttime watching telly till 4 oregon 5 erstwhile it's daylight."

Additional reporting by Chris Bell.