RESIDENTS who were terrorised at a Blackwell caravan park hope the culprits get a lengthy prison sentence and are forced to pay back their ill-gotten gains.

Seven men were convicted, at Worcester Crown Court last week of carrying out a terror campaign that led to three mobile homes at The Glen being burned to the ground.

Elderly and vulnerable people were being flushed out of their homes so the criminals could buy the site at a knock-down price.

One of the residents, 66-year-old Patricia Downes said after the seven-day trial: “When the caravan next to us went up in flames we were so terrified we sold our home for £6,000. It was fully furnished and was insured for £90,000 but we were too frightened to stay.”

The pensioner, who has since moved to Droitwich, added: “I hope they go to jail for a long time and are made to pay back the money we all lost.”

The convictions of 60-year-old Anthony Bernard Tully, Anthony John Tully, John and Simey Doherty, Douglas Guildford, David Hallam and Luke Hardy from Leicester were the culmination of a complex 18 month Kingpin investigation by West Mercia Constabulary.

Senior investigation officer, Detective Inspector Mark Colquhoun, said the Dohertys denied any involvment in the arsons but telephone evidence obtained by the police proved otherwise.

He said: “These were despicable offences aimed at victimising some of the most vulnerable members of our community.

“Ruining these elderly people’s lives was the desired outcome of the Dohertys by terrorising them out of their homes.

“All of this was done purely out of greed and desire for money – it was difficult to conceive of a more cold hearted and calculating crime,” added Det Insp Colquhoun.

The criminals declined to give evidence to the jury and have been remanded in custody to a date to be fixed for sentencing.

During the case it was revealed that two of them, Guidford and Hallam, were caught in the act of arson after police arrived on the scene within minutes.

During the reign of terror, 16 pairs of residents moved out and are still too afraid to return, their life savings were wiped out.

Four of them sold their homes to the Dohertys for £1, when the market value would have been at least £75,000.

The owner of the Glen Park site also lost more than a quarter of a million pounds after being threatened and intimidated into lowering the price from £1.2m to £1.14m.

*** POLICE ISSUE VITAL ADVICE.

SINCE the case police are warning all prospective mobile home residents to beware of unscrupulous site owners.

The mobile park industry is a billion pound business now that more older people are moving into them to free up their capital to increase their quality of life.

The legislation governing the industry is mostly made up of a combination of the Mobile Homes Act 1983 and individual licences issued by the appropriate local authority.

Park owners get significant power over the homeowners on their site. Residents cannot sell their homes to a prospective purchaser without permission which gives the site owners the power of veto over any sale, which is also subject to a 10 per cent commission.

A resident who wants to replace an old home with a new one is not free to buy it themselves. The purchase must go through the site owner who will receive a considerable discount from the manufacturing company.

They could then sell the home on to a resident at the full retail cost.

Dependant on the type of new home sold, a site owner might expect to make £45,000–£90,000 on any single transaction.

Detective Inspector Colquhoun said: “Park Home residents should feel confident in contacting their local police, should they be subjected to treatment victims at the Glen suffered.

“Rogue site owners must recognise that those who break the law and subject their vulnerable residents to criminality will be investigated, caught and could suffer substantial penalties as a result.”