Police apologise over raid error

Ariel Clarke's family say some damage has yet to be repaired

An 85-year-old woman from West Bromwich has described how police broke down her front door in the early hours.

Ariel Clarke, who lives alone, said she was extremely frightened by the raid in May. Three months on, some of the damage has still not been repaired.

West Midlands Police said they called at the wrong address while responding to a call that a woman was being threatened with a knife.

The force has paid for the repair of Mrs Clarke's front door and apologised.

Complaints process

Mrs Clarke told BBC Midlands Today: "I felt frightened like anything could happen to me. I could have fainted."

Mrs Clarke's family said that a bedroom lock shattered in the raid was still broken, and that she was not strong enough to open her new front door.

However, the family said that police were swift to apologise for their mistake.

In a statement, West Midlands Police said they acted in good faith to an emergency call but were given the wrong address.

They stressed that an apology had been made to the 85-year-old and said a formal complaints process was in place.