Arun veteran threatened with eviction after being 'assaulted' on his doorstep

An Arun veteran has been threatened with eviction after being 'assaulted' on his doorstep.
David StadlerDavid Stadler
David Stadler

David Stadler said he has crippling anxiety after his nose was broken while being repeatedly punched in the face on his doorstep in Bilsham Court, Bilsham Road, Yapton, on August 7.

Police said a 41-year-old Yapton man was arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. But after 'fully investigating' the incident, there was not enough evidence so he was released without charge, police said.

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The 54-year-old father said the incident also left him with a trapped nerve in his back and a broken dental plate that cost him £120 to replace. He said: “I am a prisoner in my own home. I used to be so outgoing before this happened.

David StadlerDavid Stadler
David Stadler

“When the door goes, the hairs go up on my back and I get the shivers. Now, I would get more company if I was in a prison cell.”

The collector of military memorabilia served in the Royal Armoured Corps from 1982 to 1985. Several years later, he had a nervous breakdown and has been on benefits since 1997.

He said he had been prescribed a stronger drug for his mental health due to the incident, which left him feeling ‘zonked out’.

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Having given up his Airsoft hobby, David said he only left the house was when he was taken to the Littlehampton Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club twice a week.

On September 2, he received an eviction notice from his housing association, Southern Housing Group, claiming he had been playing loud music in the early hours from February 26 to August 8 this year and daubed a ‘phallus’ on someone’s property on May 23.

He denied all the claims.

He said ‘he could have cried his eyes out’ when he got the letter, and felt he had been poorly treated by them.

A Southern Housing Group spokesman said: “Southern Housing Group takes reports of anti-social behaviour very seriously as we appreciate the impact this can have on our customers and the wider community.

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"Whilst we are unable to comment on this individual case we only take legal action where the seriousness of a case merits its and we have tried all other proportionate steps available to resolve the matter.”