8 March, 2015. 17:10

ALEXUS COBETT | North-NSW | Contact

Three men remain in hospital today after what is believed to have been a late-night home invasion gone sour in Taree on friday.

The group of three to four suspected ‘junkies’ have been terrorising the streets of Taree for some time, with a string of break and enters.

However it appears the serial burglars have recently struck trouble of their own when they attempted to break in to the house of former tent boxing champion, 78 year-old local Reg “Slim” Flynn.

At around 10:15 pm on Friday night, neighbours of Mr Flynn reporting hearing “muffled whispers and footsteps” followed by a “slamming door“.

The chaos that erupted was described by Reg’s next door neighbour as “World war fucking three”.

“Old Reg had obviously known they were in the house… He’s gone and locked both the front and back doors and worked them over. They couldn’t get out!”

“He turned the lights off and everything. He may look like a gentle old man but Reg showed himself to be a real sicko”

The chaotic scenes were reported to have continued until local police arrived on the scene, one whole hour and a half later, to find three men – in their late teens and early twenties – unconscious and bleeding profusely from multiple facial lacerations on Mr Flynn’s front lawn.

Police say no charges have been laid yet, as they are still working to piece together the unusual turn of events.

AAP cameras were able to snap images of Flynn’s bruised knuckles as he made way out of the police station yesterday morning, but when questioned by local media about how he had incurred such recent injuries, he stated that he had cut his hands fixing up his roof gutters a “couple of weeks ago.”

The Advocate was able to contact Reg’s estranged wife, Marie, about the matter. Mrs Flynn stated on the record that:

“[Reg] towelled those druggie fuckwits for two whole hours. He wiped the floor with the lot of them”

However, Reg has provided a different account in the official police report.

“I was watching some old Wheel Of Fortune shows on the telly when I heard someone out the front. They were making their way up the stairs and into my house. I must have given them a fright because all three fell down the stairs and knocked my themselves out.”

One thing that old Reg wasn’t able to explain was how the three men were able to knock themselves unconscious and land ten metres away with such severe injuries.

Witnesses claim it looked as though their bodies had been dragged down the front steps.

This statement also counteracts statements made by neighbours:

“I saw old Reg run to his front door and lock it after seeing someone sneaking in the back side. I heard him cry “Let’s dance, pretty boy!” and the house erupted,”

However, as cruel as the alleged “beat down” was, the greater Taree community have rallied behind Mr Flynn.

“I just took one look at the poor blokes and patted ol’ Reg on the back. He had punched holes through them. Not so tough now are they!”

Despite his age, Mr Flynn still holds several records in six divisions for boxing in North-NSW, which makes him the number one suspect for this grotesque assault. The fact that he still works as a security guard at the local Taree nightspot “Foths” (The Fotheringham Hotel) was not lost on the detectives either

However, until the three hospitalised men are able to make a statement, no further inroads can be made in the case.

Many local community members have rallied around Reg, claiming that he is a hero and should be treated as one.