A GREAT-GRANDFATHER died from a heart attack days after disturbing a man attempting to break into his bungalow.
Harry Foster, 81, was left badly shaken up after finding the intruder attempting to break into his conservatory, according to his wife, Janet, and neighbours.
Mrs Foster was in hospital receiving life-saving treatment for kidney failure at the time of the attempted break-in at their home in a quiet west Hull cul-de-sac.
She said: "The person who tried to break into our home is responsible for his death. They are the scum of the earth.
"Whoever tried to break in must have targeted us because they knew we were pensioners.
"What has happened has left me bereft."
Paying tribute to her husband of 34 years, Mrs Foster said: "Harry was such a lovely, gentle man who would not hurt anyone.
"When you get to our age and have been together so long, you still see the other person as they were when you met."
Mrs Foster, who arrived home from hospital the day before her husband collapsed, tried to revive him before paramedics arrived and took over.
He was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, where he died nine days later after telling his wife that he loved her.
Mrs Foster, 74, said: "Harry had not told me about the break-in while I was in hospital, because he didn't want to worry me.
"But he was not the same when I got home. Harry seemed so anxious. I knew something was wrong straightaway. Eventually, he told me what had happened. He had kept it all to himself."
Mrs Foster said her husband had looked out of a window at the back of their home and spotted the intruder.
She said: "A window was shattered and he had tried to tamper with the locks, too."
Mr Foster was found by his wife, unconscious in the hallway of their home off Summergroves Way, on June 1.
She said: "I thought he had just fallen over but I could tell from his complexion that something was wrong."
Neighbours, alerted by Mrs Foster, rushed to help her perform CPR.
"I was calling out the numbers, '1,2,3,4' as they pumped his chest. I was shouting, 'God, help me'. I was praying we could bring him round."
Mr Foster's heart was restarted by paramedics using electric shocks and he spent time on the high- dependency ward at Hull Royal Infirmary.
He appeared to be showing signs of improvement, but slipped into unconsciousness and died on June 9.
"Harry told me he loved me," said Mrs Foster. "We had been talking about what we were going to do when he got home."
Mrs Foster is unsure of the date the attempted break-in happened.
Mrs Foster praised hospital staff for the care afforded to both her and her husband. She said: "They have been marvellous and could not have been more courteous."
Colin Hague, who lives next door to Mrs Foster, said: "Harry and Janet were such a lovely couple. They never went out by themselves – you would always see them together.
"Harry was a really genuine, nice chap who always had nice words to say about people."
Mr and Mrs Foster have two sons and three daughters, as well as eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Mr Foster's funeral will be held at 11.30am on Wednesday at Haltemprice Crematorium. Donations will be given to the renal unit at Hull Royal Infirmary.
Anyone with information about the attempted break-in should call police on 101.
10
