They Didn’t Get Mad, Just Even

David and Elsie Edwards arrived home from vacation to find their front door bricked up and a notice saying it was condemned as unfit to live in because of storm damage.

As they gazed at their house in a state of shock, neighbors in Aberdare, south Wales, revealed it was a practical joke.

Douglas Hathaway, a tavern keeper, said last week that he had masterminded the operation in retaliation for the “for sale” sign he found on his car when he returned from vacation. Edwards had placed it there.

Hathaway said a construction worker was hired to do the brickwork on Edwards’ home and a computer buff prepared a mock demolition order signed with the name of Nicholas Edwards, secretary for Wales.

“They made a lovely job of it and we had no hard feelings,” said Edwards, 58, a retired coal board official not related to the Wales secretary.