A family is having to endure a terrifying hate campaign because they

suffer from learning difficulties.

Jennifer and Ted Cox and their three children claim they have become prisoners in their own home after suffering four years of abuse.

The family has endured:

*SMASHED windows;

*Being PELTED with eggs and even lumps of wood;

*A KICKED-IN fence; and

*Being SWORN AT.

Jennifer, who has lived in the terraced home in Saxton Road, Abingdon, for almost ten years, believes a gang of teenagers has targeted her family because they suffer from learning difficulties.

She said: "We have all been to special schools because we all have different reading and learning abilities. I think that makes some of the local youths think we are easy targets."

The Coxes have three of their five children still living with them - Edward, 18, Richard, 14, and 11-year-old Matthew. The house is owned by the Vale Housing Association but the family has repeatedly asked to be re-housed in the past year.

In addition, Jennifer's elderly mum suffers from cancer and her dad has had five heart attacks. She said: "I have all that stress to cope with, as well as being afraid to leave my own house. "The trouble is getting worse. They have run out in front of my husband and tried to push him off his motorbike and he has had wood flung at him, which has hit him on the head."

She said she had contacted the police and presented the housing association with letters from her doctor, as well as police crime incident reports, in her bid to be re-housed.

But she added it had got her nowhere.

David Rundle, the VHA's area housing officer, said although the family had considerable "harrassment points", the Coxes could not be rehoused in their preferred area of Wantage because there was no property available.

They had declined to move to another housing association in Southmoor or swap with another tenant in Faringdon.

Mr Rundle added: "We are undertaking security enhancement to the property and have warned four of our tenants to exercise more control over their children, who have allegedly harrassed the family.

"Counter-allegations have been made about the behaviour of the Cox children.

"We always fully co-operate with the police in tackling anti-social behaviour, but So far there is insufficient evidence to go any further with our four tenants."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.