Police brand robbers 'despicable' for ransacking Winsford home

Thomas Price, a 20-year-old from Winsford, carried out the robbery with his accomplice – a 17-year-old from the Accrington area, who can’t be named for legal reasons.

Chester Crown Court heard the married couple, who are both in their 70s, had lived at the address on St George’s Road for the past 20 years.

Price, wearing a balaclava and brandishing a hammer, and the teen, who’s face wasn’t covered, entered the home via an unlocked back door at around 4.30pm on December 21 last year.

When the pair didn’t find any cash or items worth stealing, they ripped gold bracelets off the wrists of the woman, who revealed she couldn’t sleep since the ordeal and suffered from nightmares.

The teen was jailed for four years and eight months at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday, June 29, while Price received six years and eight months when he was sentenced in February.

During their investigation, detectives from Northwich Proactive CID recovered a catalogue of evidence linking the pair to the incident.

This included CCTV footage of them arriving at the scene in a white Citroen Berlingo before carrying out the burglary.

Following the sentencing Police Constable Matthew Uren, who led the investigation, said: “The victims in this case were a vulnerable couple who were simply sat in their bedroom while these men subjected them to an absolutely terrifying ordeal.

“Not only were the threatened with a claw hammer, but they were forced to sit and watch, fearing for their lives as their bedroom was torn apart by this despicable pair.

“Thankfully, as a result of the information they provided, along with the evidence gathered by the team here at Northwich, the pair have now been held accountable for their actions.

“While they will never be able to forget what happened on that day, I hope that the sentences handed to the pair will provide them with some closure and allow them to move forward with their lives.”