A CARRUM man living in a caravan suffered “major head injuries and brain swelling” when a group of men burst in and stole a safe, 9.15pm, Sunday.
Chelsea police said four or five men entered the back yard of the house in Church Rd and forced their way into the van where the man, 20, was living.
They threatened him with a large kitchen knife and hit him on the head several times with a baseball bat. He also received deep lacerations to his left foot.
Occupants of the house watched the attack in horror.
The offenders ran off with the safe – whose contents are unknown – and were tracked for a short time by the Dog Squad before disappearing.
The victim was taken to The Alfred hospital for treatment.
Police later charged a Carrum man, 45, with theft of the safe, but not the burglary. Yesterday it was in police hands – still unopened.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 20 April 2016