First topic message reminder :

has anyone on here seen anything about this ... [url=http:
//www.
sofiaecho.
com/2009/08/24/773906_scottish-couple-savagely-attacked-at-home:1ysxzucb][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Alan Cantwell, 64, and wife Sylvia, 63, were reported to be driving back to Scotland following the raid on their remote house near Pleven by "
four crazed brutes"
- who slashed their dogs to death.

Under the headline "
Scots flee from Bulgaria brutes"
, the newspaper reports that Cantwell and his wife were sleeping when they heard their dogs barking.

According to their daughter, Yvonne, "
He (Alan Cantwell) was gone for a while then one of the gang kicked in the bedroom door.
He was huge and pinned mum to the bed. He held a machete to her face, screaming: 'Money, money, money!' Mum said they didn't keep cash in the house and handed over all their cards and pin numbers. But he screamed abuse in Bulgarian while the other three trashed the house."


The Sun reports that Cantwell was then tied up in the garden and repeatedly hit with a pickaxe handle. The couple's dogs were butchered. The paper also reports that after Yvonne had alerted police and identified a member of the gang, the intruders returned to wreak revenge but found the house abandoned because the couple had moved from their home - described as being in a rural area - into a hotel.

It doesn't make for good reading especially for those who are thinking of moving to Bg, even in the UK this wouldn't happen ?
:roll:

[size=75:1yuj0mta]novinite 10 January 2010

Bulgarian Attackers of Scots Couple "
Closer to Justice

A gang of machete thugs who attacked an expat Scottish couple in Bulgaria are one step closer to justice, according to the head of the Bulgarian consulate in Dundee.

Nikolai Zhelev, professor of medical biotechnology at Abertay University, has been following the case of Alan and Sylvia Cantwell, the couple who used to live in Friockheim before they retired to a house outside the Bulgarian town of Pleven.

In August the Cantwells suffered a horrific ordeal when four robbers burst into their home and repeatedly struck 64-year-old Alan with a pickaxe handle and pinned Sylvia, 63, to her bed with a knife at her face.

The gang, who butchered the couple's two bulldogs, made off with a haul of jewellery  prompting the Cantwells to abandon their home and possessions and flee to Dundee to stay with daughter Yvonne Davie.

Following the attack Professor Zhelev offered his services as an intermediary to help them wade through the paperwork and liaise with the Bulgarian police. Now, over four months after the attack, he was able to report possible headway in the case.

"
I've been in touch with the Bulgarian interior ministry. They are looking at it very seriously, Zhelev said, as cited by Scottish TV channel.

"
There have been quite a few cases of a similar nature. They have arrested one gang that has done quite a lot of damage. People have been charged and prosecuted but, being a democratic country, it takes a lot of time.

"
There has been one organised group dealing in the area and we hope they will be brought to justice. A group of 25 people have been arrested.

"
They are called the Naglite, meaning 'The Impudent.' These are vulgar persons who would carry out these acts with no remorse."


The Naglite gang was recently busted by authorities, days before radio host Borislav Tsankov was due to air a series of sensational disclosures about the group. Tsankov was shot dead in broad daylight in Sofia on Tuesday.

Let's hope that justice prevails and they get what they deserve

sarah

[size=55:a83qqovh]novinite 06 August 2010

Bulgarian Impudent Gang Thrashed Scots Couple

A retired Scots couple who were brutally attacked by machete-wielding thugs at their dream home in Bulgaria have been left penniless.

Alan and Sylvia Cantwell have been forced to live in a caravan back home in Dundee while their idyllic cottage in Bulgaria lies unsold.

Now the couple have been told their application for criminal compensation has been refused by the Bulgarian authorities on the grounds they WEREN'T injured.

And the couple are furious that they have been snubbed.

But a letter sent to the couple by Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Justice Hristo Angelov states: "
There is no evidence of grievous bodily harm on Alan Cantwell.

"
The National Council for Assistance and Compensation to victims of crime refuse to grant financial compensation."


Alan, 65, said: "
I had my teeth knocked out and was beaten black and blue. My face was bloodied and swollen, I had two black eyes and terrible bruising on my legs and body. I thought I would die.

"
To find out we're not entitled to anything beggars belief.

"
The official letter even has the date wrong. They say the attack took place on March 18, 2009. We weren't even in Bulgaria then. It happened on August 7.

"
But we don't even have the right to appeal."


The couple had bought a cottage in February 2009 - which didn't even have running water - in the village of Pleven for £3,000 and spent £25,000 modernising it.

Sylvia, 64, added: "
That was our downfall - the gangs thought we were rich and wanted money. But we hadn't a penny."


The couple had remortgaged their home to fund their dream of retiring abroad and had settled in. But that changed one night last August, when they were woken by their dogs barking.

Alan got up but as Sylvia listened for his return, two masked men burst into the bedroom.

One began ransacking the room while the other pinned Sylvia to the bed.

She said: "
He was swinging a pickaxe around and yelling for money. I handed over my Bulgarian bank card and my pin number, but that wasn't what they wanted.

"
One man was sniggering into my face. I thought they had killed Alan and now it was my turn."


Suddenly, the men ran out and, in shock, Sylvia made her way to the front door. She said: "
I opened the door and walked into a pool of blood.

"
I thought it was Alan's, then I saw our dog Meg lying there dead, with her head virtually chopped off.

"
When Alan appeared, he was covered in blood."


A notorious gang called The Impudent are thought to be behind the attack.

In January, radio presenter Borislav Tsankov, 30, was gunned down before he was due to reveal members' identities.

After they were attacked, Alan and Sylvia were taken to hospital and treated for their injuries. They then spent five days in a hotel helping police before fleeing Bulgaria in their campervan and driving back home.

They returned to Bulgaria once more to collect their car, but Sylvia said: "
We won't be going back.

"
I'm not the woman I was. I'm nervous and tearful.

"
We can't get the house sold and I think we're going to have to walk away.

"
We thought we'd be sitting in the sun enjoying our retirement.

"
We could never have predicted all this."

Strange story. We have been here 3 years and we have not seen any evidence of violent conduct. In fact the only bad behaviour we have noticed is by Brits, swearing and shouting abuse at the Bulgarians and indeed at each other. Like previous writers on this have said the report was in the Sun so a wildly exaggerated story no doubt. But where there is smoke there is probably a fire. It is not uncommon for Brits to show off as to how well off they are as compared to the Bulgarians. I'm not saying that this couple were like that, but may have been victims to someone else's boasting.

Yet another dream bubble that has burst.

well, if someone hacked my 2 dogs to death i would be mortified,, would i get over it, who knows, and burglary with violence is not nice to say the least. violence exists in every country, whatever the truth of this story. and sorry to say bulgaria does not like to be open on areas of outsiders having problems. my first visit to bulgaria at golden sands to view houses. we met a couple who brought their friend on holiday with them, a male in his thirties. cctv show him leaving the bar at eleven and leaving the hotel. he never returned. he was found dead a few days later, they said he fell down a slope and died. the press were not informed and the couple were pressured into getting the body out of the country asap. we were appauled at the way they treated this couple as if it was their fault for his death. no publicity, silence on this news. so who knows what really goes on here,