Home invader picks wrong house, war veteran shatters antique chair over his head
A decorated war veteran was surprised to find a home invader in his Nowra bedroom on Wednesday.
But the home invader was probably more surprised when the 83-year-old former Navy Rear Admiral shattered an antique chair over his head.
Neil Ralph awoke to find the unwelcome guest in his home but was not about to let the burglary go smoothly.
Mr Ralph, who served during the Vietnam War, said he let out a roar as he fought back against the intruder, partially to unsettle his adversary but also to alert neighbours to the unfolding crime.
"I was trying to confuse him one way or another as well as inflict some damage on him so he'd clear out,” he told 7 News.
"I just grabbed the chair, it was the only weapon I had and I donged him with it."
He said it was natural to get ‘a little cranky about it’ when someone broke into your ‘little world’.
While his attempts to ward of the invader were successful, neither Mr Ralph nor the antique chair came out unscathed.
“He just shoved me very hard in the chest and I fell on the floor,” he said.
Mr Ralph suffered two wounds to his head that required stitches. The chair was destroyed.
But despite the tense encounter, he said he was not angry with the intruder, who he said would be caught eventually.
"Sympathy more than anger, I think,” he told 7 News.
Police believe Mr Ralph's attacker could be responsible for a number of other break-ins in the Nowra area over the past month and have urged residents to remain vigilant.
