A FAMILY has been rehomed to a secret location under police escort following a "vendetta" they claim left them terrified just by the sound of the letter box rattling.
The Nunsthorpe family say they were hounded from their home by bullying, out-of-control residents who threw bricks and eggs and vandalised their car with spray paint.
Graffiti was daubed on the walls of their house in Milton Road, with the word "Grass" painted on both sides of the door.
Family members claim they were also threatened by youths armed with golf clubs.
And, on one occasion, a gang of 20 people chanted and hurled abuse at the family even though they were inside talking to a PCSO.
He had to halt the interview in the living room to call fellow officers to respond.
Today, the couple and two teenage children have revealed the extent of their ordeal for the first time, although anonymously through fear of reprisals.
Now they have been moved to a secret address, they feel safer speaking out. They have all been issued with wrist alarms in case of any attacks.
But the removal firm needed police officers on guard to secure the family's belongings, and the sound of the letterbox rattling in their new home still causes them to panic.
Even a ward councillor has admitted: "It is has got so that people won't answer their door."
"We only lived in Milton Road for four months and it was our first time in a Shoreline property," explained the mother of the family, who is 47.
"When we were first shown around, we were told it was the best part of the estate."
The couple redecorated the two-storey house before moving in.
The mum continued: "The first we realised there were problems was when I was asked if I had a boyfriend.
"Our daughters also received abuse. The eldest is gay and the abuse of her was constant. It was horrendous.
"I like to keep a tidy home and a tidy garden, and some people would comment that was showing them up."
The incidents escalated to vandalism of the family's vehicles, egg-throwing and verbal abuse. Plants in the front garden were uprooted or cut with scissors.
CCTV cameras were installed in the street but that did not deter the vandals.
The mother said: "We felt imprisoned. Whichever way we turned, we were going to end up in trouble.
"My disability car was vandalised and my husband's van which he uses for work had its tyres slashed."
She told how the recovery firm driver who came to collect her car was pelted with eggs.
Her husband, who underwent treatment for a brain haemorrhage, helped push the car to a nearby street.
When they got the car onto the recovery vehicle, the father took refuge at a nearby shop in order to await a police escort back to the home.
She recalled: "People were stood in the street shouting 'You deserve it'."
Ward councillor Jane Bramley, who has lived on Milton Road for 17 years, said: "People don't report incidents because they are afraid what might happen to them. It has got so that people won't answer their door."
One resident, who has lived in the street for 50 years and did not wish to be named, said: "I was nearly knocked down by a kid on a bicycle.
"Another day I had a kid come to my door and ask for £1. When I refused, he became abusive. If we wanted to move we would not be able to sell our home."
Another resident said: "I have lived here 30 years and raised six kids and none of them were angels. But people should not respond to them. If you respond you are asking for it.
"It is all right if they are left alone."
At their new home, the family has put up net curtains so they are not seen by anyone who may be associated to their tormentors.
She also refuses to display ornaments on the windowsill in case they are recognised.
The mother said: "We were made homeless by those mindless thugs. It was heartbreaking because we had to cancel my daughter's birthday celebrations."
The youngest daughter, who is 17, added: "It should not have been us who had to move."
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