A disabled woman says she has been left frightened, injured and financially overwhelmed after her home in Shepton Mallet was attacked following the live-streamed arrest of her former tenant during an online sting operation.

She returned home from work to find a police card on her doorstep, asking her to get in touch urgently. When she spoke with officers, she was told her tenant had "left the property and wouldn't be returning", and that she could dispose of his belongings.

No further information was given, except that the man had not been harmed.

"I thought something bad had happened to him — that he'd died or was in hospital," she said. "I had no idea what was really going on until my friend found the video. The police didn't tell me anything."

That evening, while watching a recording of the online sting in disbelief, her living room window shattered.

"Glass went everywhere — into my face, onto my animals. I was terrified," she said. "My pets were terrified and I instinctively went to them to make sure they were okay. Then, a few seconds later, another window was put through. Then another. I ran to the front door, and there was paint all over the house. I saw a group of people running away.

"Since then, all of my windows have been smashed, paint has been thrown across my property, my house has been broken into and items stolen, and on several occasions, I've woken up to men outside trying to get in."

The man had been renting a room in the property for about two years, before the group turned up at the door, the woman said.

"He said he'd split from his wife and gave me a bit of a sob story. He mostly kept to himself and was always polite and helpful — a good tenant. I had no reason to think anything was wrong. I trusted him. He was removed and evicted from my home immediately after his arrest. But since then, I've been subjected to ongoing harassment by people who wrongly believe he still lives here."

Avon and Somerset Police later confirmed a man in his 70s was arrested in Shepton Mallet on Sunday 20 July on suspicion of engaging in sexual communication online with a child.

He was questioned and released on conditional bail to an address outside Somerset. The man has since been charged. No plea has been entered, and legal proceedings remain ongoing.

Although the suspect no longer resides at the property, the landlady said she has continued to face vandalism, break-ins and online harassment.

"People started putting my address online," she said. "I've had people breaking into my garden, stealing things, smashing my property. He hasn't been back since the day he was arrested — but I'm the one getting the anger that's meant for him."

She said she is unable to move due to mobility needs and her responsibility for her animals.

"I can't just leave. I don't have anywhere else to go. I'm living in fear in my own home."

She has launched a fundraiser to help cover the cost of the damage.

"I'm having to pay for all this myself. I feel completely out of control," she said. "What he's alleged to have done, his arrest, the livestream, the damage — none of it was in my control. I didn't do anything wrong, but I'm the one living with the consequences."

She urged those angry about the allegations to stop targeting her. "I'm just as angry and upset about what he's been accused of as anyone else," she said. "But he's not here. You're scaring me. You're scaring and hurting my animals. Please stop."

The Hidden, the group behind the sting, issued a message in response to the incident: "Targeting the home of the individual or their family is unacceptable, and we do not condone it. The person arrested should be held accountable — not their family, friends, or anyone living at the address.

"That's not what we stand for. Our goal is to protect children and allow the law to act on the evidence we provide."

Avon and Somerset Police said enquiries into the criminal damage at the property are ongoing and have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.