TWO people have been arrested in connection with the murder and robbery of Irish pensioner Tommy Ward.
Mr Ward, 80, was attacked in his own home on September 30, 2015.
He was left with a broken jaw and a fractured skull, as well as broken ribs and a finger hanging just by its tendons.
A six-hour operation was required to treat his head injury and he had to have his finger amputated.
As well as his injuries, as safe containing £30,000 of Mr Ward’s life savings were also stolen. It was later discovered empty eight miles from Mr Ward’s home on a canal bank in Rotherham.
Mr Ward died as a result of his injuries five months later on Tuesday 23 February 2016.
Detectives investigating the death of the proud Irishman have arrested a man and a woman, both aged 29, on suspicion of robbery and murder.
They currently remain in custody being questioned by officers.
At the time of the attack, Mr Ward’s daughter Jackie Perry said: “It’s heartbreaking.
“He opens his eyes and sees us but he hasn’t spoken at all since it happened.”
He never recovered from his injuries and died in hospital almost five months later on February 23, 2016 as a result of his injuries sustained during the attack.
A proud Irishman, Mr Ward was regularly seen in his local pub, The Manor, wearing Irish T-shirts and hats.
He was a reader of The Irish Post – which his family read to him in hospital – and a fan of Irish music.
Having spent his life working firstly in the British Army and later in the nearby Maltby mines, Mr Ward was enjoying his retirement and made regular trips to Ireland.
His roots in Ireland went back to his grandmother, who came from Co. Galway.
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