London, United Kingdom— A homeowner was hospitalized Saturday after a violent residential home invasion in Greater London.
The attack happened around 8:40 p.m. on October 25, 2026 at a semi-detached house in Croydon. The resident, a 58-year-old man living alone, had just returned from a shop when three men forced their way through the front door as he opened it.
Metropolitan Police said the intruders demanded cash and jewelry. The homeowner resisted. He was struck with a blunt object, believed to be a hammer, and knocked to the floor in the hallway. Neighbors heard shouting and a crash, then saw two men run out carrying a small safe and a laptop bag.
A neighbor called 999 at 8:46 p.m. Officers and paramedics arrived within nine minutes. The victim was found bleeding from head wounds, conscious but disoriented, lying near the kitchen doorway. The house had been ransacked upstairs.
"He was on the floor, holding his head. Blood everywhere in the hall," a next-door neighbor said. "We heard banging. We thought it was furniture falling."
BBC News reported the victim was taken to St George’s Hospital in Tooting with a fractured skull and facial injuries. His condition was described as serious but stable late Saturday. No family was present at the house at the time.
Police cordoned the street and deployed a forensic team. Officers recovered a hammer left in the garden and footprints leading to a waiting car on the adjacent road. CCTV from a doorbell camera showed a dark hatchback idling with lights off.
Metropolitan Police said the suspects were described as three men in black tracksuits with face coverings. The force believes the house may have been targeted after the owner was seen withdrawing cash earlier that day at a local post office.
Detectives asked residents to check dashcam and doorbell footage between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. No arrests had been made.
The road remained closed until midnight while house-to-house inquiries continued.
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