If it was some type of slingshot type device, surely the Police could have worked back from the affected buildings to find a likely trajectory of the stones and keep a eye on the properties that may be possible launch sites. The stones will fly in straight lines, not go around corners and they could only cover a certain distance. A catapult or sling shot only has so much power, they are not cannon or artillery pieces. The stones won't fly for miles, maybe only hundreds of yards. The distance to a adjacent property. It must be possible to work out the direction from which the attack came and a range.
Well, they spent thousands of hours trying to figure it out. I'd find it hard to believe they didn't try this, especially since it was said that they had ballistic experts working on the case too.
Yay welcome back CD ive missed your videos as you are a wonderful content creator. This case has me stumped but who or what could have done such a thing and not be caught red handed so to speak. It is like you said were they launching them from a catapult set back from the properties and in line with the windows etc. You would have to have a perfect aim every time which would be tricky at best. This is a true head scratcher indeed ..... thank you for this video I just love it when you make these mystery stories. Can not wait for more .... Take care
Why would they need perfect accuracy? Two things stood out, as per this presentation: When the police stalked the area, they reported impacts against the sides and rooves of houses. The yards in the area had similar stones within them, so if one falls short it wouldn't stand out....
Glad to see another upload from your channel, as you guys always cover some mysterious cases which are new to my ears; however, you almost lost me at "poltergeist"... glad you quickly realized that would not be the case!! Still watching but thanks for the upload & hope all is well!
I remember reading a news article in the early 2000's that struck me as super odd, but kind of funny as well. It was 20+ years ago so I won't recall all the details - but I do remember telling a workmate at the time. In the early 2000's, in a suburb/neighbourhood of a city in Australia, someone was apparently shooting citrus fruit from a cannon in their backyard. That was the theory anyway. These projectiles were travelling at great speed, seemed to be travelling a great distance, and doing huge damage to property, cars, homes - if a person was struck (luckily I don't think that happened) then judging by the visible damage being done, it would have been a very real risk of serious injury. I can only imagine they were very robust fruit, like grapefruits or large lemons? Lol. I recall the article stating the police were looking into it, and a local person speculating that they might be coming from a hill in the area. I can't remember which city. I'm thinking Melbourne or Sydney, but I really can't remember that detail.
Or wait till no one offical is present to witness. If the police where obvious in the area, attacks would begun the moment they headed back to the station. When the police hid themselves, attacks occurred but the officers where not in position to observe whom it was.
Great to have a new mystery, we love your channel. ❤ It’s a pity though that you have stopped using the music that you used in the earlier videos which always gave the stories real atmosphere, please bring it back. It’s a mystery why you ceased to use it? 😉
For years my own home was the target of young kids, under the age of 12, throwing stones, vegetables, bottles, even a bag of chips and eggs at the windows. On two occasions an airgun, which isn't a toy but a firearm, was used to shoot holes in the outer pane of the double glazing. So I understand what this did to the residents. In my own case, this stress coupled with bullying at work caused me to have a nervous breakdown. I hope whoever did this realised it very quickly stopped being a joke.
I live in Hull, and a few years back a lump of metal weighing about 1kg went through someone's roof into the loft. The main line of enquiry was with something coming from an aircraft.( it wasn't identified as a part of a plane. Although it could still have been carried by one.) No aircraft flight path overhead was identified. But i was wondering if it had been launched into the air from the ground, but no one has suggested this idea.
could they not set up a camera and a radar gun to determine what angle the rocks came in at, at what speed, and the weight of the rock and then determine where it must have been launched from? i mean we were doing this is high school physics class from both ends. as in if you launch this projectile at this angle and speed how far will it go and then what was the initial angle and velocity of a projectile that lands like this. they should have got some military artillery guys to look at it. you think if those were mortars coming in they would just shrug it off like "oh well we cant find the source". even if you couldnt measure the exact angle you could get close then you'd have an area to search
Sounds like someone had a tractor tyre innertube cut into a strip.You only need two solid posts and boom,catapult that will lob a house brick for quite a distance.Maybe not,who knows?
It’s interesting no 32 sold for £240,000 a couple of years ago I wonder if the new owners knew what had gone on in the past you can see the house on right move
Either a teen or teens that had nothing better to do and got their kicks off this or an older psychotic person was behind this in my opinion. Go to a secluded area with your projectile, do what you came to do and then leave. Seemed kind of dangerous for policemen to be sitting about in trees and whatnot, unprotected/unshielded, to try and figure out where this was coming from. Also not sure such a thing would have to be disclosed when selling, although it would be awful to the new homebuyer to not disclose, but I would have been moving the hell out of there after all that time!! Anyhow, have a good one & hope to see you again soon!!
Intriguing video, thank you. Like many in the comments I find it hard to believe that further research wasn't apparently done in this case. If you could take one of the very large pebbles shown in this video, go to an old airfield or large expanse of land and see how far that object could be propelled using some system that didn't create a sound then I'm sure the investigation would've homed in more on the cause.
Police should start to investigate common backgrounds between the tennants and/or owners of the attacked houses, in order to find a possible enemy in common.
Perhaps one step further too: Whom had an financial interest in the area? If this was occurring today, I would start to look at the Real-estate agents....
@@comic_food_guy think balcony or inside a room. Two long pieces of strong rubber tied off at each end of room or balcony. Pull back. Its just what i thought. A catapult would be a bit loud launching in my opinion and was suggested in the doc. Who knows really. Just a thought
“One heck of a head scratcher” - yes - the concluding comment in this video just about sums it up ! If one is drawn to a “paranormal explanation”, has anyone ever investigated the past history of the main houses, the subject of the attacks ? I suppose looking for some “logic” to why an “entity” would target these particular houses is a non-starter in the minds of those who regard pursuit of a “paranormal explanation” as totally irrational in the first place ! Anyway, I’ll just continue to scratch my head !!!
I've requested that they reinvestigate the case with modern technology. I've asked for more resources and funds to carry out the investigation as well as a thorough review of the previous investigation.
What good would that do? Case is over and done with and was from 40-plus years ago. Perp could be long gone by now, and no one actually died as a result of it -- other than the claim of the early demise by the sickly, elderly lady due to this which may or may not be true -- so what would be the point on spending any more time or resources on it?
@@abcdefg7046 Knowing how the magic trick is done doesn't stop one from doing the magic trick. Finding out how this crime was done could just lead to some copy-cat, at this point in time.
If it had been south London rather than Manchester, I’d suggest Netherne, Maudsley, Cain Hill, Bethlehem or any of the big old nut houses. Many gone now.
When I was a kid, me and a friend got a royal rollocking for firing rock hard little apples into the next street using a tennis racket. We couldn't believe how far they went. You could fire them right over houses with ease. Some time after this I saw this article on the news and thought: "some joker one or two streets away with a powerful catapult of some sort". It would have to be very quiet so as not to alert neighbours, so probably not mechanical. Maybe it was even firing from inside a shed or garage. Fair play for how long they kept it up for, that is some serious dedication. I suspect they got caught up in their infamy and the whole mystery.
Yes, let's just carress the stone like a woman's upper half instead of preserving it for forensics. The 1980s were a different time. But the real answer here is probably some large, homemade slingshot or trebuchet-type machine. I'd say slingshot because it's easier to build/transport/hide. No CCTV back then so setting it up wouldn't have been an issue. Another possibility is a modified crossbow.
@@nightowl7459 That's a good point. No doubt people's awareness of forensics was a lot more limited in those days.. Unless they knew some one with knowledge, or they were someone with knowledge 🤔 Another thought - perhaps the rocks actually came pre-washed from a local river or stream? It feels like an awful lot of rocks just to be from a single back yard.. Maybe the perpetrator(s) worked with these kinds of rocks and had constant access to fresh, clean ammo?
Staff sling??Would that be used like a fishing rod?Or bent back and let go?I think its tracktor innertube cut into strips,laminated and between two steel bars from a highlight/roof window.I used to fish with Berbhers and they made lethal catapults out of truck inner tubing,They hunted with them,they also used slingshots brilliantly.
@ medieval (I think) weapon, kind of like a long lacrosse stick with a sling on the end rather than a net. Used rocks about that size and sent them 100’s of meters.
Why not a Hydraulic Catapult? I am unsure how big one would need to throw a fist-sized stone, but the narrow design of these launchers would make them a lot easier to conceal. They could also be made a lot more modular, as you can pump fluids through tubes, for ease of transport and further concealment. Pity I don't have the facilities to recreate the concept, I wouldn't be surprised to find the end result is a catapult small enough to fit into the back of a car.
Interesting, thanks for sharing Lostbutfree. It certainly would explain the 'how' part of the mystery. I suppose a modern version of an ancient weapon could be much more covert as you have suggested..
Future massive raging storm sending shrapnel from the other side of a regular, but temporary, anomaly. Anyone notice a team sent by the Home Office hanging around?
Just want to add we would never have done anything this potentially lethal but there were some crazy kids back then. They blame lead in the petrol I hear?
Pebble? Size of a potato. That is some stone. How could ANYBODY be soooooo bored to do such a weird thing.? What would anyone get out of doing this. Gotta be a bloke. Odd Incel
I'm originally from Birmingham, and I've never heard about this before.
Excellent video. Subbed.
If it was some type of slingshot type device, surely the Police could have worked back from the affected buildings to find a likely trajectory of the stones and keep a eye on the properties that may be possible launch sites.
The stones will fly in straight lines, not go around corners and they could only cover a certain distance. A catapult or sling shot only has so much power, they are not cannon or artillery pieces. The stones won't fly for miles, maybe only hundreds of yards. The distance to a adjacent property.
It must be possible to work out the direction from which the attack came and a range.
Yes that’s exactly what they should have done and the culprit was probably watching them when the police were camped out in the garden
Well, they spent thousands of hours trying to figure it out. I'd find it hard to believe they didn't try this, especially since it was said that they had ballistic experts working on the case too.
Yay welcome back CD ive missed your videos as you are a wonderful content creator. This case has me stumped but who or what could have done such a thing and not be caught red handed so to speak. It is like you said were they launching them from a catapult set back from the properties and in line with the windows etc. You would have to have a perfect aim every time which would be tricky at best. This is a true head scratcher indeed ..... thank you for this video I just love it when you make these mystery stories. Can not wait for more .... Take care
Why would they need perfect accuracy?
Two things stood out, as per this presentation:
When the police stalked the area, they reported impacts against the sides and rooves of houses.
The yards in the area had similar stones within them, so if one falls short it wouldn't stand out....
Thanks MJArt, 😊 glad you liked it. Yes, very much a head scratcher. Thank you for your continued support, you take care too!
This case was highlighted in the excellent 1980's series : 'Arthur C Clarkes Mysterious World'
I remember seeing this story on it back in the 80s.
A stone almost the size of your hand aint no pebble...if that hit you in the head you'd be in serious trouble...
Neil James was my Supt at Belgrave Road and Edward Road Police Stations....seen here as a young PC. A great officer and lovely man.
Glad to see another upload from your channel, as you guys always cover some mysterious cases which are new to my ears; however, you almost lost me at "poltergeist"... glad you quickly realized that would not be the case!! Still watching but thanks for the upload & hope all is well!
Welcome back 😊 glad you stuck it out to the end!
@@curiousdark 💝💝💖💖
The perpetrator only lived a stones throw away. . .
I remember reading a news article in the early 2000's that struck me as super odd, but kind of funny as well. It was 20+ years ago so I won't recall all the details - but I do remember telling a workmate at the time. In the early 2000's, in a suburb/neighbourhood of a city in Australia, someone was apparently shooting citrus fruit from a cannon in their backyard. That was the theory anyway. These projectiles were travelling at great speed, seemed to be travelling a great distance, and doing huge damage to property, cars, homes - if a person was struck (luckily I don't think that happened) then judging by the visible damage being done, it would have been a very real risk of serious injury. I can only imagine they were very robust fruit, like grapefruits or large lemons? Lol. I recall the article stating the police were looking into it, and a local person speculating that they might be coming from a hill in the area. I can't remember which city. I'm thinking Melbourne or Sydney, but I really can't remember that detail.
"Natural phenomena" like stone projectiles usually don't wait until it gets dark....😂
Or wait till no one offical is present to witness.
If the police where obvious in the area, attacks would begun the moment they headed back to the station.
When the police hid themselves, attacks occurred but the officers where not in position to observe whom it was.
Great to have a new mystery, we love your channel. ❤ It’s a pity though that you have stopped using the music that you used in the earlier videos which always gave the stories real atmosphere, please bring it back. It’s a mystery why you ceased to use it? 😉
It would be important to determine what kind of rocks were they. This info would give some idea of the origin of the rocks.
We never used to fire ball bearings from a black widow catapult at our shool in the dead of night from the lakes opposite. Never did that no.!
As a brummie, I know alum rock, I'm sure the residents now would welcome this over the shootings and stabbings in broad daylight they suffer now.
For years my own home was the target of young kids, under the age of 12, throwing stones, vegetables, bottles, even a bag of chips and eggs at the windows. On two occasions an airgun, which isn't a toy but a firearm, was used to shoot holes in the outer pane of the double glazing. So I understand what this did to the residents. In my own case, this stress coupled with bullying at work caused me to have a nervous breakdown. I hope whoever did this realised it very quickly stopped being a joke.
How awful 😟 Sorry to hear that..
Just came home from work and I clicked on this video..
Thanks for the chilling content, CD..💖
@jackiebayliss .. I've been working since last Thursday until Tuesday ( six days) and then I have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off..😊
Hey, thanks for stopping by! Nice to see you in the comments again, glad you are still enjoying the channel 😊
If it happened now they could search nearby gardens with a drone to see if there was a trebuchet or other slingshotting machine
I live in Hull, and a few years back a lump of metal weighing about 1kg went through someone's roof into the loft. The main line of enquiry was with something coming from an aircraft.( it wasn't identified as a part of a plane. Although it could still have been carried by one.) No aircraft flight path overhead was identified. But i was wondering if it had been launched into the air from the ground, but no one has suggested this idea.
You made my day.. Im so happy
Glad to hear it, thanks for stopping by 😊
could they not set up a camera and a radar gun to determine what angle the rocks came in at, at what speed, and the weight of the rock and then determine where it must have been launched from? i mean we were doing this is high school physics class from both ends. as in if you launch this projectile at this angle and speed how far will it go and then what was the initial angle and velocity of a projectile that lands like this. they should have got some military artillery guys to look at it. you think if those were mortars coming in they would just shrug it off like "oh well we cant find the source". even if you couldnt measure the exact angle you could get close then you'd have an area to search
Grow up!……this was way back…..stick to your x box fantasies
Sounds like someone had a tractor tyre innertube cut into a strip.You only need two solid posts and boom,catapult that will lob a house brick for quite a distance.Maybe not,who knows?
Yep your spot on I’ve seen it done by Mike shake youtube
It’s interesting no 32 sold for £240,000 a couple of years ago I wonder if the new owners knew what had gone on in the past you can see the house on right move
interesting 🤔 good bit of detective work there Tracey!
Either a teen or teens that had nothing better to do and got their kicks off this or an older psychotic person was behind this in my opinion. Go to a secluded area with your projectile, do what you came to do and then leave. Seemed kind of dangerous for policemen to be sitting about in trees and whatnot, unprotected/unshielded, to try and figure out where this was coming from.
Also not sure such a thing would have to be disclosed when selling, although it would be awful to the new homebuyer to not disclose, but I would have been moving the hell out of there after all that time!!
Anyhow, have a good one & hope to see you again soon!!
Crazy older person mad about something in the neighborhood seems way more likely. Kids, even a group of them, are not going to stick it out for years.
Intriguing video, thank you. Like many in the comments I find it hard to believe that further research wasn't apparently done in this case. If you could take one of the very large pebbles shown in this video, go to an old airfield or large expanse of land and see how far that object could be propelled using some system that didn't create a sound then I'm sure the investigation would've homed in more on the cause.
Police should start to investigate common backgrounds between the tennants and/or owners of the attacked houses, in order to find a possible enemy in common.
Perhaps one step further too:
Whom had an financial interest in the area?
If this was occurring today, I would start to look at the Real-estate agents....
A decent size slingshot probably.
"Let me show you its features!"
Catapult?
@@comic_food_guy think balcony or inside a room. Two long pieces of strong rubber tied off at each end of room or balcony. Pull back. Its just what i thought. A catapult would be a bit loud launching in my opinion and was suggested in the doc. Who knows really. Just a thought
When a comment can fuck the video up 😂
A "Black Widow" or a "Pro Diablo". Or maybe a "Cobra". The range on them things are mental.
Police wouldn't bother now..
Too busy investigating hurty words on t'internet lol
@@theshamanarchist5441 If those hurty words were written on the rock they would
“One heck of a head scratcher” - yes - the concluding comment in this video just about sums it up ! If one is drawn to a “paranormal explanation”, has anyone ever investigated the past history of the main houses, the subject of the attacks ? I suppose looking for some “logic” to why an “entity” would target these particular houses is a non-starter in the minds of those who regard pursuit of a “paranormal explanation” as totally irrational in the first place ! Anyway, I’ll just continue to scratch my head !!!
I've requested that they reinvestigate the case with modern technology. I've asked for more resources and funds to carry out the investigation as well as a thorough review of the previous investigation.
What good would that do? Case is over and done with and was from 40-plus years ago. Perp could be long gone by now, and no one actually died as a result of it -- other than the claim of the early demise by the sickly, elderly lady due to this which may or may not be true -- so what would be the point on spending any more time or resources on it?
So no one can do it so easily again..
@@abcdefg7046
Knowing how the magic trick is done doesn't stop one from doing the magic trick.
Finding out how this crime was done could just lead to some copy-cat, at this point in time.
good luck with that
And to think this perpetrator could still be out there! 😮
I suspect those rocks were thrown with some kind of modified slingshot.
Remember the case so well
And the guy who was driving the only Porsche on the estate and worked at "Thornton road window fitters" was laughing!!
If it had been south London rather than Manchester, I’d suggest Netherne, Maudsley, Cain Hill, Bethlehem or any of the big old nut houses. Many gone now.
When I was a kid, me and a friend got a royal rollocking for firing rock hard little apples into the next street using a tennis racket. We couldn't believe how far they went. You could fire them right over houses with ease. Some time after this I saw this article on the news and thought: "some joker one or two streets away with a powerful catapult of some sort". It would have to be very quiet so as not to alert neighbours, so probably not mechanical. Maybe it was even firing from inside a shed or garage. Fair play for how long they kept it up for, that is some serious dedication. I suspect they got caught up in their infamy and the whole mystery.
Yes, it had to be easily concealed or easily transported/taken appart otherwise they would have been spotted eventually..
Someone in a property across from the houses being attacked maybe.
Pc Neil James was on a stake out in the local boozer 🤔😝
A couple of pints stones bitter
Yes, let's just carress the stone like a woman's upper half instead of preserving it for forensics. The 1980s were a different time.
But the real answer here is probably some large, homemade slingshot or trebuchet-type machine. I'd say slingshot because it's easier to build/transport/hide. No CCTV back then so setting it up wouldn't have been an issue. Another possibility is a modified crossbow.
Modified crossbow might be a good shout actually 🤔 thanks for sharing!
It was probably dirty chav.
Sounds too organised and elaborate for though
@@MARK_13_13A chav with a high IQ??
There weren't any chavs in the 1970's, only bloody rapscallions.
Grrr.... 👊
Can't understand why the rocks would be washed? Surely all that was needed would have been a good pair of marigold gloves?
Perhaps whoever was responsible wanted to be super cautious and wash any potential links to their own property/soil off of the rocks?
@curiousdark That's very possible? But I wouldn't have thought at that time many would have thought about that?
@@nightowl7459 That's a good point. No doubt people's awareness of forensics was a lot more limited in those days.. Unless they knew some one with knowledge, or they were someone with knowledge 🤔
Another thought - perhaps the rocks actually came pre-washed from a local river or stream? It feels like an awful lot of rocks just to be from a single back yard.. Maybe the perpetrator(s) worked with these kinds of rocks and had constant access to fresh, clean ammo?
@@curiousdarkI would think the river theory is that bit more likely?
I don’t know how it was done, but I know how all of it could be done, and that would have been through the use of a Staff Sling.
Staff sling??Would that be used like a fishing rod?Or bent back and let go?I think its tracktor innertube cut into strips,laminated and between two steel bars from a highlight/roof window.I used to fish with Berbhers and they made lethal catapults out of truck inner tubing,They hunted with them,they also used slingshots brilliantly.
@ medieval (I think) weapon, kind of like a long lacrosse stick with a sling on the end rather than a net. Used rocks about that size and sent them 100’s of meters.
A roman slingshot ??
Why not a Hydraulic Catapult?
I am unsure how big one would need to throw a fist-sized stone, but the narrow design of these launchers would make them a lot easier to conceal. They could also be made a lot more modular, as you can pump fluids through tubes, for ease of transport and further concealment. Pity I don't have the facilities to recreate the concept, I wouldn't be surprised to find the end result is a catapult small enough to fit into the back of a car.
Interesting, thanks for sharing Lostbutfree. It certainly would explain the 'how' part of the mystery. I suppose a modern version of an ancient weapon could be much more covert as you have suggested..
@@curiousdark I think it would be an older person, a man, eccentric.
No-one can catch a 👻
Could it have been birds of some type,able to carry stones quite big for whatever stupid reasons.
Birds trying to get even with their cheating ex boyfriends?
😁
Could be they fell from the sky or there is a castle in the area and they are using stones
Justice for the Thornton Road 5 😝
👍🐿😎
😀 👍👍
And now they arrest you for tweets….great
What a load of bull 💩.
Black widow and broken spark plugs probably.
Future massive raging storm sending shrapnel from the other side of a regular, but temporary, anomaly.
Anyone notice a team sent by the Home Office hanging around?
The 80s eh? No internet or much technology? We were little sods in those days.
Just want to add we would never have done anything this potentially lethal but there were some crazy kids back then. They blame lead in the petrol I hear?
It would have been kids
This is a hilarious waste of 10.21 minutes of all our time……
Try catching a Djinn!
Obviously it was mischievous crows 😂
I'm going to put it down to paranormal (possibly poltergeist?) activity.
Stranger things have happened...
I don't know where this road is but if there's some country boys around they did it.
Lunatic
Those are big tocks, its definitely not bitds😂😂
It was kids with a catapult…….get a grip……utter bs
I used to love spooky nonsense but at some point you have to grow up and use occams razor.
It had to be the African or the European swallow 😂
Pebble? Size of a potato. That is some stone. How could ANYBODY be soooooo bored to do such a weird thing.? What would anyone get out of doing this. Gotta be a bloke. Odd Incel
Someone got jilted by Chad lmao
Liberal much?