RESIDENTS terrorised at a Blackwell caravan park are to receive more than £500,000 from the mobile home park owner jailed for his crimes.

In February 2009 seven men, including brothers John and Simey Doherty, were convicted of carrying out a harassment campaign at The Glen, involving arson and blackmail.

Four mobile homes were burned to the ground in 2007 as part of a bid to make the owner sell the site for a reduced price.

After John Doherty bought the business, the attention turned to residents.

Elderly and vulnerable people were flushed from their homes, selling at knock-down prices. Four residents were so intimidated they sold for just £1, when the market value would have been at least £75,000.

The Doherty’s were identified as the ringleaders and John was given a 12-year sentence, and Simey jailed for 11 years and three months.

After the conviction, West Mercia Police’s Economic Crime Unit applied for a confiscation order against John Doherty, under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

He has been forced to pay back £507,170, which is being shared between 19 victims, including The Glen’s former owner.

John Doherty was also prosecuted for defrauding £250,000 from people buying homes at a site he already owned in Coventry, and has been ordered to pay back £240,245 to four victims.

Money was recovered from the sales of the two parks and overall victims are receiving more than 90 per cent of their original claim.

Detective Inspector Mark Guzzard, who heads the unit, described it as a complex process to get compensation, but it was done to tip the balance back in the victim’s favour.

DI Guzzard said: “It is clear it was a day-to-day business to run the sites, and intimidate residents.

“John Doherty has had to sell his assets to pay back what he owes. When he is released from prison he will have nothing.”

Senior Investigating Officer in the original investigation, Detective Inspector Mark Colquhoun, said four of the older victims had sadly died in the years since, never getting to see any form of compensation after their ordeal.

The money will instead go to their families.

“The compensation is a good thing, but it does not end everything that happened at The Glen,” he said.

“Residents went through unimaginable terror.”

Sonia McColl of the Park Home Owners Justice Campaign, which was set up in 2009 to help protect mobile home residents from abuse, said she had received heartbreaking letters from The Glen residents.

“They feared for their lives.

“Residents don’t want to speak now due to fear of reprisals,” she added.