A Florencecourt pensioner fears he will be murdered in his bed after arsonists set fire to a car outside his home – the latest in a string of threats, intimidation and abuse against him.

Derek Chambers says he and his wife Betty “will end up dead” if the PSNI don’t catch the people he believes are responsible for three years of attacks.

“These people want us gone, they want us dead. It makes me feel sick, I am out of my mind,” Mr. Chambers told The Impartial Reporter.

“We are two pensioners, we have worked hard all our lives and we just want peace. But these people don’t want us to have peace – they are out to get us and we don’t know why,” he said.

The attacks have stepped up in recent weeks; with one man apparently telling the couple he would “blow their brains out” and a car fire bombed outside the home they have lived in for over 30 years.

“This was murder, they wanted to murder us in our bed,” recalled Mr. Chambers. “Only for the dog barking we would have smothered in our bed – we would have been dead in the bed.” The couple were woken at five o’clock in the morning on August 24 when they discovered a car had been abandoned on their drive and set on fire as a second car drove off along Marble Arch Road.

“All I had on me were my underpants on,” said Mr. Chambers. “I came out here, grabbed the fire extinguisher – it wasn’t worth a damn - it didn’t last two minutes - and ran over and got the hosepipe to it, I was spraying it, then a neighbour came to help us out. The fire brigade arrived later.” Part of the roof of their home and window frames were damaged by the fire, outside lights were burnt out, hanging baskets were destroyed and their concrete drive was scorched damaged.

Prior to the fire bomb attack, Mr. Chambers says a lorry driver dumped soil on his lane.

“I sat in front of him, I told him he could drive over the top of me if he wanted to and he said he would blow our brains out.” Before that, the 68-year-old claims two men told him they would “flatten the place”.

“I have been receiving these threats for three years. It is just threat after threat after threat straight to my face. They even smashed every window in the house in 2011 – the glass covered us in our bed.

“We are three years living here in fear. We check everything around before we go to bed and when we go to bed I don’t sleep - you dream about things, you think something is happening.” During the emotionally-charged interview, Mr. Chambers repeatedly broke down in tears.

“I can’t take this any more,” he said. “I go into that front room and I cry.” “I built this house myself, I built the garages myself, I built everything myself. The only two people who got paid were the electrician and the plasterer. It is a sin that people are trying to drive us out of here,” he said, again, breaking down.

A desperate Mr. Chambers walked into St. John’s Parish in Florencecourt during a Sunday service last month, got to the front of the church and told the startled congregation about his plight.

“I went into that church, I brought the dog with me. The Minister was in the middle of the sermon and I said ‘this wee dog saved our lives’. I told everyone listening what had been going on and I didn’t name first names, but I told everyone the surnames of the people behind this. I told them what was happening and I asked everyone that if they knew anything to come forward and tell the police. But I am telling you now, people are afraid of their lives to say anything,” he said, adding that he and his wife are “thankful” for the help and support of many neighbours and friends in the area.

Mr. Chambers, who worked for the National Trust for over 30 years, says he has provided the police with the names of the people he believes are responsible for the attacks.

“The police have done absolutely nothing – not one thing. Everything has been reported to the police – everything. I gave them the names and they come here and take the odd statement. If a man threatens to blow our brains out he should be taken to court. If a man tells us he is going to flatten our house something should be done about it.” Reiterating his anger, Mr. Chambers said: “It is an outrage. Why are they targeting us? You can talk to the whole country around here and they will tell you that we are good people. I give vegetables away, I give everything away, we are good to everybody. We were happy as larry until about three years ago, but we are not happy any more.” “Something needs to be done before it is too late,” said Mr. Chambers.

Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott has been assisting the couple and yesterday he told this newspaper that “everyone has a right to a peaceful life”.

“I condemn all intimidation or any acts of violence. The public have a difficult enough time without having to cope with waves of anti-social behaviour,” he said.

The Impartial Reporter also asked the Police Service of Northern Ireland to comment on the attacks against Mr. Chambers, but they would not. “We do not comment on named individuals,” said a spokeswoman.

“However, we never ignore anything that would put anyone at risk. Police are investigating a number of incidents in the Florencecourt area. Enquiries are continuing and we would appeal for anyone who can help with police enquiries to come forward,” she said.