Plea for witnesses after family attacked

The incident which happened last Wednesday evening left Paul Shepherd (50) with a lump on his head and a bruised jaw and his brother-in-law Michael Downey (35) with a black eye and cuts and bruises.

It is believed that 20 youths came demanding money that they believed was owed by Paul's daughter, Marie Shepherd (21).

The group smashed kitchen windows using a tree branch at the bungalow in Longfellow Drive, Herringthorpe, and also damaged a car on the street.

Paul said: “They just started punching me in the head, and I had my car smashed as well.

“We have just had enough of this now—it's not the first time this has happened.

“I was left with a lump on my head and my jaw was very sore.

“The incident really shook me up, to be honest.”

Paul's wife Linda (61), said that she had been terrified at what was going on outside her home.

“They started saying my daughter owed them some money, and began throwing stuff at the bungalow”, she said.

“There were about 20 of them, it was really scary.”

A police spokeswoman said:  “If anyone saw what happened or has information about the incident, please call 0114 220 2020 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”