ONE minute Daryl Broadley was unloading his trailer, the next he was set upon by a gang of thugs in a disturbing Anzac night assault in Tamworth.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The random and unprovoked attack on Friday night in Phillip St has left Armidale’s Daryl Broadley battered and bruised, and his family traumatised.
“Every time I tried to get up I kept getting punched,” he told The Leader.
“My right shoulder, that’s where they kicked me, literally laying the boot in.”
All the while, Mr Broadley’s two-year-old was watching from the fence in a state of terror as her Dad was forced down on the ground with multiple blows.
“My wife was on the phone to police in one hand and with the other hand was trying to pull some off them of me,” he recalled.
It all unravelled about 8pm when, ironically, after hearing reports of break-and-enters, Mr Broadley thought he would unload his landscaping gear off the trailer while visiting family for the night.
He noticed a group of men coming up the street drinking cans of bourbon, and said “hey fellas” when they walked past.
Moments later one of the males jumped on the ramp off the trailer and broke it before walking off.
Mr Broadley tried to confront one of the men about the damage before things turned violent.
“They started belting me, as I went to defend myself, my wife said a total of seven of them joined in,” he said before police arrived.
“Their response time was instantaneous, they were right around the corner and the offenders took off in each direction,” he said.
“Within three to four minutes there was three or four police cars here.”
Mr Broadley was taken to hospital but luckily he only suffered bruising, lacerations and bleeding.
“My main issue is my wife and my daughter’s safety,” he said.
“My old man said why did you call them back, and I said why do you let them get away with it?
“You wouldn’t think walking out of your parents you would get flogged.”
Now not only is Mr Broadley feeling sore and sorry, he’s lost out on most of the weekend’s wages because he wasn’t well enough to work.
“I want something done about it,” he said.
“The police did everything in their powers but politicians need to listen, something needs to be done.
“My daughter is traumatised by it, she woken up screaming, she’s terrified ... but they shouldn’t be damaging people’s private property.”
Tamworth police have confirmed they are investigating the assault and looking into any nearby CCTV footage which could help to identify the offenders involved.
Anyone who saw anything suspicious around 8pm on Friday in Phillip St is urged to contact Tamworth police on 6768 2999 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
