All Hallow’s Eve… a night when zombies, ghosts and monsters roam the streets in search of sweets and treats. A night when distorted faces carved into glaring orange lanterns adorn the windowsills of houses across the country. Doors are opened for the eager children awaiting their fair share.

However, this Halloween a resident of Chislehurst received an unexpected, rather nasty surprise.

The burglary took place on Yester Road, near Sainsbury’s, Chislehurst, at around 19.30 on 31st October; Halloween, just as many trick or treaters in the area began to head out to gather their stash of sweets from the locals.

Despite the various young monsters wandering the roads around the corner, Yester Road was fairly quiet in the early evening, until an ‘ear-piercing’ alarm sounded from about halfway up the road.

Three fairly young men dressed in black had their own Halloween plans, and attempted to rob a house on the street. Whether or not they were successful is unknown, but the juveniles managed to punch a man, in around his 50's, before speeding off in a black car.

It is suspected that the group were trying to steal car keys for a Porsche belonging to the family.

A witness of the incident, Elysia Hackett, tells us what she recalls:

“I saw three men dressed entirely in black with balaclavas shouting to each other before they punched a man in the face who stumbled to the ground, and then ran across the road in front of our car. All the men got in one vehicle and drove away very fast; I didn’t manage to see the number plate. An armed police car came, quickly looked around the house and set out to attempt to arrest the burglars. Another police car came for more details from the witnesses. An alarm sounded for about 5 minutes afterwards. It was not a pleasant experience.”

Letters were posted shortly after, to all the residents of Yester Road, warning them of the dangers of house robberies, especially keys being hooked through the letter box, from a safer neighbourhood team for Chislehurst.

Fortunately no one was hurt, just a little shaken up, but the burglary was certainly an unwanted scare for Halloween.