Redenham family living under death threat appeals to unknown attacker

When they close their eyes, the words of a letter they received flash in front of them.

It was a death threat – hand delivered along with two live shotgun cartridges.

The letter said their properties would be attacked and they would be killed.

But it was not addressed to them. The person who delivered the letter, in fact, got the address wrong.

It was meant for one Michael Clayton, director of Coperforma – a private ambulance firm that went bankrupt in 2018.

But Derek, 58, and Frances, 46, did not think in their wildest dreams that a case of mistaken identity would cause them so much loss, distress and agony over the rest of their lives.

Since the day he received the letter in August 2021, he has been targeted twice.

In October 2021, the driver’s window of his Land Rover was smashed and paint was thrown inside.

The attacker again left two shotgun cartridges inside the vehicle – probably as a warning.

The third and most recent attack was the worst to date. Nearly a year after the last attack, on November 10, the attackers broke into his workshop, poured oil all over the floor, painted over all items, smashed up a lathe, welding equipment and machinery, and spraypainted the words ‘Coperforma S***’ and ‘Clayton you’re dead’ on his garage.

They also slashed all four tyres of his Land Rover.

Derek and Frances Gardner (Image: Newsquest)

His workshop, which had tools that he has been making for 40 years, and a 1940 motorbike that he has been restoring for four years as part of a rehabilitation programme, was turned upside down and engine smashed.

Today, the couple lives in fear of death every second.

“We’re not the people they are looking for,” Derek’s said.

Frances said the address written on the letter read ‘Old Laundry’ – the name of their house.

But when they opened the letter they saw that it was addressed to Mr Clayton.

“We alerted the police. They came and took the letter and cartridges away, and checked for the DNA. But they couldn’t find anything.

“We also put CCTV cameras outside our home. But it wasn’t looking to the field when the Land Rover was vandalised."

The car window was smashed and paint was thrown over the seat in the second incident (Image: Newsquest)

After their vehicle was targeted, the couple put a sign outside their gate.

It read: ‘No one at this property is linked with Coperforma Ltd’.

“It was quiet after that,” Derek said.

“We thought they had realised their error. Or they got it out of their system. So we took the sign down.”

But then another tragedy hit the Gardner family – something unrelated to the attacks.

A car parked at the neighbour’s property and left to charge under a tarpaulin caught fire on the hottest day of the year and the blaze engulfed the Gardners’ house.

The fire brought the roof of their home down, forcing them to move to another address.

Then the third attack happened, more than a year after the previous one.

Derek, who had met with a serious accident in 2016 and suffered head injuries, still had to go back to his garage from his temporary residence every day for his rehabilitation programme.

“I was restoring a 1940 Triumph motorbike using the tools and spare parts I have collected over 40 years.

“One day I went to the garage and saw that all four tyres of my Land Rover parked outside had been slashed.

“Someone had left open the back door of the garage and gone round and smashed everything. I had big cans of hydraulic oil which was poured everywhere. Then there were all the spray painting against Coperforma and Mr Clayton.”

The act was not caught on camera as all the powerlines to the CCTVs were broken in the fire.

Frances says they are absolutely petrified now.

“We don’t know who it is. We don’t know how much information they got. Police say there’s a big step from doing that sort of damage to targeting somebody. But when you look at everything that has happened, this is somebody who is incredibly angry.

“It’s very easy to say they won’t do it. But there’s enough cases in the world when people have done it.”

The couple says they only want to share a message with their attackers - that they are not linked to Coperforma.

“We have no association with the company. They are targeting the wrong person,” Frances said.

“It has got to a stage where we cannot live like this anymore. We are living in fear,” said Derek.

The 58-year-old who also has epilepsy because of the head injury he suffered had been depending on his garage for his rehabilitation.

But he says he has got nothing to do now.

“I can’t go out anywhere or take the bus. I get panic attacks and get lost. It’s hard enough to walk on the road. I just stand close to the verge and close my eyes when the cars come.

“I’m devastated. It’s taken away the one activity that I could do to keep me going. I’m very worried for the safety of Frances.”

Frances said she is “scared, worried, frustrated and incredibly annoyed”.

The Advertiser spoke to Mr Clayton about the reported incidents.

He said it was “awful” for Derek to go through everything.

“Derek had to retire because of the accident that he had at work. Mentally and physically, that was very tough for him. He’s been through a lot. This whole episode has been very upsetting for him.”

But Mr Clayton said it is hard for him to believe the incidents are linked to his company.

“I saw the spray paint on his door and there was a name. It was not exactly the same spelling as my name, but you could say it was meant to be my name.

“So I don't know why people would be contacting him at that address to harass him. It doesn't really make a lot of sense. Because all the information about the company has been in the public domain since it started.

“I had to close it down because of my ill health, unfortunately, I was diagnosed with cancer. I knew I wouldn't be able to continue work with the intensity that I was. And so I decided the best thing to is to close my business. It has been a long time and I find it quite bewildering why somebody is clearly still aggravated and upset over something that goes back such a long time.”

Mr Clayton said his business had 200 staff and 1500 subcontractors working for his business before it was closed.

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “Officers are investigating a report of a burglary at an address in Andover. Sometime between 12am and 11.30am, Thursday, 10 November a garage on Biddesden Bottom Road was broken into.

“A significant amount of damage was caused to a motorbike and machinery inside the garage and to the garage walls. Damage was also caused to the tyres on a Land Rover parked outside.

“Did you witness anyone acting suspiciously or see any suspicious vehicles in the area at around this time? Anyone with any information including any private CCTV or dash-cam footage should call us on 101 quoting reference 44220457055. Alternatively people can contact Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

When we asked what efforts are being taken by police to ensure the safety of Gardners, the spokesperson said: “As part of any investigation strategy we continuously review the risk to victims. The victims have been provided with appropriate safeguarding advice and we will continue to make contact with them to provide them with updates.”