A CANCER survivor returned home from hospital to find his door and window had been smashed open by police.

Ken Eggleton, 74, returned to his Lower Ebor Street home last Friday, to find his door and a window broken and boarded up. When he finally gained entry he found a note on his sofa advising him the damage had been done by police.

Mr Eggleton, who had been in St James’s Hospital, Leeds, said: “I’ve been in hospital for three weeks and when I got back, police have smashed my door and windows in.

“I have had my bladder removed due to cancer of the bladder. I was due to come home on Friday, and a lady friend of mine went to put a paper through my letterbox for me. She thought I had been burgled, so I told her to ring the police, but it was the police who smashed my door in.”

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said they had received a report from a concerned neighbour, who had not seen Mr Eggleton for some days.

He said: “Following checks with local hospitals which indicated he was not a patient, the decision was taken to force entry to the house to ensure that he was not in distress inside the property. Following a search it was discovered Mr Eggleton was not present at his home and the premise was securely boarded up.”

Mr Eggleton is now living in his home, which is still boarded up, and said when he phoned police to report the incident, he was asked to write to North Yorkshire Police headquarters in Newby Wiske, Northallerton.

He said: “I think it’s disgusting. I’m in a hell of a state.

“I can’t do anything like that, I’m a bag of nerves as it is, I can hardly breathe. They expect me to write off and report to them all this carry on that they have done, why should I have to do that?”

The police spokesman said an officer was due to visit Mr Eggleton yesterday afternoon to help him with the report.

He said: “We understand that Mr Eggleton was naturally distressed when he returned home and discovered the damage. However, we hope that he understands that it was done with the best intentions as his welfare was the paramount issue for us.

“We are in contact with Mr Eggleton in order to reassure him why the action was taken and will continue to work together to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.”