Former teacher complains after police raid Sheffield home looking for guns and ammunition

The 50-year-old’s home on Hadfield Close, Darnall, was raided by officers who used a chainsaw to force entry to the property at 7.55am yesterday.

The married dad-of-three, who is a qualified teacher, said nothing was found during the house search and the police operation has left him concerned about the level of corroboration checks carried out when police get tip-offs.

Officers showed him a search warrant which was issued on May 6, but the house search was not carried out until yesterday – three weeks later.

The man who does not wish to be named, said if it was genuinely believed that he had access to guns then the delay in searching his home had allowed him three weeks to dispose of the items or use them.

He also said that if the tip-off had been regarded as credible, armed officers should have been involved in the raid if there was a possibility of a gun being fired.

But instead, he claims the officers involved were regular frontline cops without guns.

He said: “If it was believed that I had access to firearms then those five or six officers in yesterday’s raid were at risk because they did not have any of the protection you would have expected if guns were thought to have been at the property.

“Another concern is that if the information passed to the police was believed, then why did it take three weeks because in that time I could have got rid of what they were looking for or killed people.”

He is demanding that the force foots the bill for the repair to his front door and he wants a written apology.

He said: “It was very shocking for this to happen at my family home.

“My first question is why did the officers not just knock first, my second is why officers were not prepared in terms of their protection if they were expecting there to be firearms, and my third is why was there such a delay in executing the warrant when the firearms could have been used in those three weeks?”

South Yorkshire Police said: “Warrants of any kind must be ratified by the court and prior to being executed, are fully risk assessed in line with force policy.

“Once the application is granted, it is valid for 28 days, in which time enforcement action may be taken at any point.

“Following a lawfully executed warrant, officers are required to secure the property, but the force is not required to compensate for any damage caused.”

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