Man's lucky escape after burglar burst into his home in 'crying girl' scam

A man had a lucky escape after a burglar broke into his home as part of a ‘crying girl’ scam.

Matthew Lambden warned other homeowners to be vigilant after he was targeted in the scam at his home in Birmingham.

The dance artist and choreographer said he was tricked into opening his door by the noise of a woman crying on his doorstep in Balsall Heath, Edgbaston.

However, when he opened the door, a man burst in and attacked him, grabbing him by the throat.

Mr Lambden wrote on Facebook that the break-in happened at 1.45am on Thursday. He posted images of his damaged throat and a police forensics team in his home after the incident.

He described how the attack happened.

‘A young girl in a black head scarf was crying at my front door,’ he said.

‘She tapped on the window and set my dog off, when I’ve gone to the window she’s begging me to go to the front door telling me she needs help.

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‘Then she starts to cry through my letterbox, begging me to help her. So I go to the door and open it on the chain to check she’s OK.

‘The second I opened the front door, a man bursts in, breaking the front door. He then starts to run towards the laptops/iPads etc.

‘So I’m finding myself in a fight with this guy, trying to pull him off the stuff, as he’s forcing himself off me. He then turns and tries to grab a push bike resting against the wall. So I’m again having this fight to not let him have it which is when he turned around and grabbed my throat.

‘I was struggling to get him off me but as he was doing it, it didn’t feel like a hand, it felt sharp. Like he was holding something, so panicking, thinking my throat was being cut, managed to force him off me and he ran out the house.’

Mr Lambden said police attended the scene and stayed in his home for almost five hours, including a ‘forensic team who have been trying to lift prints’.

Officers returned later on Thursday to take photographs of his bruised neck, he said.

Speaking about his attacker, he said: ‘I mean what the hell is wrong with people. How are you going to go through this whole set up to trick people into thinking you need help and then take advantage of the situation to try and rob someone’s house?

‘Then when you don’t get your own way? Try attack them in their own home.’

He warned: ‘Please, please, please – if you see a similar thing at your door, please do not open it and call the police straight away.’

Mr Lambden said his throat is ‘sore and cut’, but that ‘it could have been worse’.

He added: ‘Be aware and stay safe guys. The world is crazy.’

West Midlands Police said it is investigating the incident.