FURIOUS friends and family of a disabled Bolton man are blaming the council after burglars stole his most treasured possessions.

David Wallace, who is mentally ill and needs daily visits from care workers, accidentally locked himself out of his terraced council house on Irlam Street, Astley Bridge, just before Christmas.

He called out council workmen but neighbours say that despite their offers to climb a ladder and get in through an open bedroom window, the workman insisted on breaking a glass panel in the front door to release the lock.

The broken window was then boarded up and assurances made that it would be repaired.

Devastated

But a week later, as 39-year-old David slept upstairs, burglars broke in through the boarded up door and stole his microwave, video, mobile phone, CD player and treasured collection of more than £1,500 worth of CDs.

"He is devastated by it," said his brother Andrew.

"I am disgusted and really disappointed by the council. He is so vulnerable."

He added that friends and family have rallied round to help but believe the window need not have been broken in the first place and the burglary would not have happened if there had not been delays in repairing the damage.

A council spokesman told the BEN: "We sympathise with the situation in which the thieves left Mr Wallace but staff followed the usual procedure in boarding up the broken window in the door and we later reinforced it by re-boarding the door on both sides to make it more secure.

"We have visited Mr Wallace again and the broken window has been re-glazed."

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