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One of Damilola Taylor's killers was back behind bars today - only 16 days after being released from jail. Ricky Preddie (pictured left) was recalled to prison last night after breaching the terms of his parole
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Sorry, wrong house: Drug squad's sledgehammer raid nets a dinner lady drinking tea
Last updated at 00:22am on 19.04.08As with all drug raids, the element of surprise was essential.
It was 6.30am when half a dozen policemen with sledgehammers smashed the window of the red-brick terrace house and piled in to find their target.
Instead of junkies crazed on crack, however, they found school dinner lady Kathleen Oldham sitting in her dressing-gown enjoying an early-morning cup of tea.
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In we go: Officers swarm into Kathleen Oldham's terrace home expecting to find a den of drug dealers
Shocked: School dinner lady Kathleen Oldham
At that point they realised they had blundered.
"Sorry, love, wrong house", they said and immediately departed leaving a female colleague behind to make a more effusive apology.
Miss Oldham was presented with a bouquet of flowers and workmen arrived promptly to repair her front window.
Yesterday Greater Manchester Police issued a public apology to the 58-year-old dinner lady over the bungled raid on her home in Bolton.
"As part of an ongoing operation to target drug-related crime, officers entered the wrong house," said a spokesman.
"Officers will be reviewing what went wrong in order to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Miss Oldham's was one of a number of addresses targeted by police in a series of raids.
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Error: Police smashed through with a hammer and made their way into the house before realising their mistake
A neighbour, who asked not be named, said: "It was about half past six and I was up with my son. I heard voices and I was half asleep so I came to the window to have a look.
"Then I heard the smashing glass and I saw the riot van with all the officers in it."
Police said they had made 21 arrests, including two women, following a series of early-morning raids across the town on suspicion of supplying or being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
Officers also seized cash, two cars, a firearm and drugs.
The operation follows months of undercover work by officers acting on information from locals.
Police are keen that the case of mistaken identity does not stop members of the public helping tackle drug crime.
Superintendent Andy Durkin said: "The repercussions of drug use are huge, ranging from people feeling threatened walking along their own streets and children having to play near discarded needles to an increase in burglary and robbery by addicts funding their habit.
"There is no place for drugs on the streets of Bolton and this action has taken us one step closer to this."
Last year, armed officers from the Greater Manchester force raided a house in Dukinfield after reports of a gun-toting figure in the sitting room.
It turned out to be a lifesize figure of the video game character Lara Croft, armed with her trademark outsize pistols. A computer shop owner had taken it home to sell on eBay.
Wake up call: The seven officers, all dressed in riot gear piled through the front window at 6.30am
Reader views (11)
Jon, you are an arrogant, naive fool. The lady you speak of shot, and wounded, 3 police officers. When an officer of the law is presented with deadly force, they have every right - and obligation - to return deadly force.
- Ken, USA, 18/04/2008 15:28
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You are completely right Jon, at least she wasn't killed. Another thing I think is important, She got a public apology. It seems, according to the article) that the police were honestly sorry for the mistake they made. Here in the States the cops try to cover up a mistake like this and rarely (if never) apologize for it. Oh, wait, that's might because some innocent was killed trying to protect their family and the cops think they can do no wrong!
- J., USA, 18/04/2008 15:01
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They made a mistake, and have to answer for that. But they didn't arrest the poor woman, they apologized, and are making reparations. In the USA they would've hauled her off anyway, said nothing, and she would've been left with a home in disrepair.
All said, it could've been worse if she was across the pond.
- Andy, Texas, USA, 18/04/2008 14:55
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I think it's nice they at least apologized and left someone to comfort her, and even repaired the window. Here in the states, they might've slapped the cuffs on her and hauled her in for questioning, "just to be on the safe side".
- Joe Shmoe, USA, 18/04/2008 14:39
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It isn't always the Police Officers fault. It's not always possible to 'kick a door in' in fact, it's sometimes impossible. The door in question is a new type of upvc with multiple levers for security. Normally a compressor would be used to push apart the frame, but the officers obviously decided the quickest way in was through the window.
Getting the wrong address happened to me once. By relying on other Officers that supposedly knew the area (as we were from another Division) I smashed in the door to the wrong flat. Also, people do tell lies (by making false reports) to get others into trouble.
- Paul Bradford, Monflanquin, France, 18/04/2008 14:37
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What a bunch of idiots we have who cannot even verify an address and these are supposedly intelligence led raids. No wonder the poor Brazilian guy was shot dead with numb nuts like this.
- Stephen D., London England, 18/04/2008 12:44
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Well at least they didn't do what American cops are famous for when entering an elderly woman's house during a botched drug raid and shoot her multiple times.
- Jon, Yes, 18/04/2008 12:09
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So they can't be bothered to check the address, but can take the time to pose for photographs in their splendid neocon thug gear? Likewise, if the "criminals" are so dangerous, wouldn't it have been more sensible for a couple of them to kick the door in, rather than all climbing through the window, slowly, one at a time? This kind of behaviour is more about intimidating the law abiding population than anything involving criminals.
- Alan Carter, Brussels, Belgium, 18/04/2008 10:55
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I know that the police have a long history with getting their numbers wrong, their yearly crime stats prove that, but surely checking a house number isn't beyond them?
- Don Uts, Chalk Farm, 18/04/2008 10:41
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Amateurs.
- George, Brussels, Belgium, 18/04/2008 10:01
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The police keep doing this - smashing their way into people's homes and scaring the living daylights out of them. Their adrenaline is so high at the point they pile into someone's house that all caution is abandoned and they end up clubbing or shooting people out of their way. Nazi storm troopers could do no better than this bunch of thugs.
- Neil, london uk, 18/04/2008 10:00
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