Man beaten by balaclava-clad gang

A 47-year-old man was last night in hospital with double fractures to his skull after being violently beaten outside his home in a quiet Norfolk village by a gang of up to 10 balaclava-clad attackers.

The raiders were armed with bats, iron bars, bricks and wood and also left the victim with a fractured hand.

He was in his home at Heath Road, Lyng, near Dereham, with a group of people at about 8pm on Monday when they heard loud noises outside.

Detectives said a gang of up to 15 people - all wearing balaclavas - were smashing the windows of four cars parked in the driveway and then the front door and all the downstairs windows of the property.

Thousands of pounds of damage was caused.

The victim and another man, aged 46, went outside to confront the gang and about 10 men launched the violent attack.

The 47-year-old man was knocked to the ground and was hit, punched and kicked by the group.

He was initially taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and then transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. His condition was described as stable.

The second man suffered cuts and bruising and needed stitches. He was later released from hospital.

The house was sealed off for detailed examination by forensic specialists.

A team of about 10 detectives and uniformed officers is investigating the incident and looking into the background to the violent attacks.

Det Sgt Pete Jessop, of Dereham CID, is heading the investigation and said: “It was a nasty attack and left a man with serious head injuries and we are doing all we can to find those responsible.

“Whilst on the floor the man was hit, punched and kicked by a group of up to 10 people.”

A number of witnesses have already been giving statements to police and officers are eager to speak to anyone else with information.

Det Sgt Jessop can be contacted on 0845 4564567.