A DEVOTED father of five collapsed and died after teenagers carried out a string of late night attacks on his family home. Terry Barrett, 56, often went to the aid of his neighbours when they were being intimidated by youths, but he died on Saturday following a number of incidents that saw a gang of teenagers repeatedly target his Saltash house with missiles. Mr Barrett was found collapsed at the bottom of his stairs at 2.30am, having suffered a brain haemorrhage. Mr Barrett's widow, Jane, said that youngsters repeatedly targeted Alamein Road, and it was Terry who would frequently come to the rescue of his neighbours: 'If there was ever any trouble, Terry always dealt with it,' she said. 'It's always very noisy here, particularly at the weekends. Kids all get drunk and cause trouble. We see them everywhere. Terry was a very strong person. He would help anybody. 'He defended his family to the last.' Police were initially called to the house in Alamein Road early on Saturday morning after receiving reports that objects, including eggs, milk cartons and stones, had been thrown at the front door of the property. The first call to the police came at 0.40am, with two further calls reported at 1.09am and 1.59am, both involving similar behaviour. Police officers responded on these occasions and conducted a search of the area but were unable to find anyone. At 5.43pm that day, a call was received from the same address reporting another incident. And it was on this occasion that the caller, Terry's wife, Jane, told police that her husband had collapsed and subsequently died in hospital following the previous incidents. As a result of this call, police officers attended the address and began inquiries which led to the arrests of three boys – one aged 15 years and two aged 14 years – on suspicion of criminal damage and affray. The two 14-year-olds have been released without charge, while the 15-year-old has been released on police bail until August 8. On Tuesday, a 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, while three further 17-year-olds were arrested on Wednesday. All four were bailed and are due to appear at Charles Cross police station in Plymouth on August 8. One man determined to stamp out anti-social behaviour is town mayor David Carter. Mr Carter, who is a father of five children himself, plans to call a meeting with the police so that the town can discuss what anti-social behaviour is, and then look towards involving youth groups and organisations in a bid to combat the problem. The mayor has also visited local schools, asking children what they deem to be 'acceptable' behaviour. Mr Carter said: 'A number of people have taken the time to talk to me and say that they support what we will be doing in Saltash. 'There is a lot of anger, a lot of frustration and a lot of blame. But a lot of people are going to try to resolve this issue.' Anyone who witnessed any of the incidents or may have information which could assist the enquiry is asked to contact police on 08452 777 444 or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.
