A disabled widow was locked inside her own home by thugs who wired her front door shut.

Phyllis Knight, 78, feared she would not be able to get out and was worried she would be trapped if a fire started.

She is still shocked and upset by the ordeal and has urged the culprits to have a conscience.

She realised something was wrong after she heard someone ring her front doorbell at about 8pm.

She did not want to open it because she lives alone and was not expecting anyone.

So she looked out of the window of her bungalow off Avon Way, Greenstead, Colchester, and saw no-one was there.

Because she was worried she later tried to open the front door to put security chains on. It was then she realised it would not open and began to panic.

She called the police who discovered the door had been wired shut from the outside. Thugs had weaved wire through a handrail on the front door used for Mrs Knight to steady herself.

She was disabled when the car she was driving hit a wall at Elmstead Market four years ago. Her husband Charles died in the accident.

Mrs Knight said today: "I thought I was locked in but I didn't really know what was going on until the police arrived. I am still upset and shaky. They know I am disabled around here. They are just laughing at me and that is so cruel."

Mrs Knight praised PC Mark Needham, who came round to cut the wire. She added: "They should be sent into the Army for a few years and get a bit more commonsense."

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