Safety deposit box hopes for Tommy Ward cops

DETECTIVES believe they have found the safety deposit box stolen from the home of elderly assault victim Tommy Ward in Maltby.

A man walking his dog found the box next to the canal at the rear of a recycling plant off Wharf Road in the Kilnhurst area on Tuesday evening.

The man had seen the appeal to trace the box from South Yorkshire Police’s Facebook page and contacted officers.

The safety deposit box is light grey with a key lock, around 40cm x 30cm x 18cm and is big enough to accommodate A4 documents, weighing around 7kg.

The one pictured is taken from a website and is similar to the one stolen. 

Det Insp Richard Partridge said: “The item is currently undergoing forensic tests but we believe it is the safety deposit box taken during an aggravated burglary on Salisbury Road, Maltby, in which an 80-year-old man was seriously assaulted.

“This does illustrate the key part the public play with many of our investigations and I would now ask for their help in establishing how the safety deposit box came to be in Kilnhurst.

“The area along the canal is popular and I would ask people that regularly use the towpath to cast their minds back over the last two weeks – did you see anyone throw the safety deposit box away? Was there anyone acting suspiciously?

"If you have any information, irrespective of how insignificant you feel it may be, I would like to hear from you.”

He added: “The elderly man remains very unwell in hospital and we are determined to find out who is responsible for this vicious assault.”

Police were called on October 1 following reports that 80-year-old Tommy had been found that morning at his home in Salisbury Road, Maltby, with serious injuries.

Two 19-year-old man are currently on police bail after being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and burglary.

If you have any information, call 101 or email [email protected], quoting incident number 408 of October 1.