Masked burglars bound the hands and feet of an 89-year-old woman before beating her and ripping the wedding ring from her finger.

Anthony Foord and Amie Lynn even threatened to make their victim drink laundry detergent during a merciless and “grotesque” attack that left her “bruised and violated”.

So impacted was the pensioner by the terrifying ordeal that she told a court she has been in a “state of panic” ever since.

Foord, 45, and Lynn, 38, were this week handed lengthy prison sentences after admitting their part in the violent burglary on April 14 this year.

Recounting the horrors of the early-morning raid during sentencing, Judge Simon Taylor KC told how it was 4am when Foord and Lynn broke into the house in Dymchurch and found the pensioner asleep.

“What woke her was the physical act of you tying her hands and feet together with cables,” said Judge Taylor.

“You, Ms Lynn, said: ‘Do as you’re told and everything will be all right’ but those were not words of reassurance, they were words of threat.”

Canterbury Crown Court heard how Foord flipped the mattress in search of cash before tearing the elderly woman’s rings from her fingers and a necklace from her neck.

In a victim impact statement, the frail pensioner recalled pleading with her attackers to stop and explaining that she was an old woman with mobility issues.

But Judge Taylor told how Foord and Lynn persisted in their torments, threatening to force-feed their victim laundry detergent unless she provided them with money.

“The victim directed you to a pot in the study containing about £20 in coins,” continued the judge.

“You asked her where her mobile phone was and she told you she didn’t have one.

“When you found a mobile phone, you smashed it.”

He added that with the elderly woman still tied up, Foord then repeatedly hit her over the head with an object thought to have been a book, before stealing and destroying other property.

Addressing both defendants, he added: “You took items of sentimental value, such as family photographs, you took her car keys, her bus pass, even her medication.

“You then poured bleach all over her house, an act that resulted in the ruination of many of her personal belongings. You poured liquid soap all over her furniture.

Police arrested Foord, of Cherry Garden Avenue, Folkestone, and Lynn, of no fixed abode, the same morning, with Lynn spitting on the face of the officer as she was taken into custody.

The pair later pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated burglary at magistrates’ court, with Lynn also admitting assaulting an emergency worker.

Mitigating for Foord, Tom Dunn said he has shown remorse for his actions and argued that a troubled upbringing had “cast a very long shadow over his life”.

“When I told him what the likely sentence was going to be, he said three words to me: ‘I deserve it’,” said Mr Dunn.

“He had significant traumas in childhood with addicted parents, which has led him to have his own addiction problems.

“At the time of these offences, he was not long released from prison, he was living in a tent and heavily addicted to drugs.

“But he is now drug-free and has a number of certificates to prove that.”

Lawyer Donna Longcroft similarly explained that Lynn had long had trouble with addiction and is sorry for her behaviour.

“Ms Lynn has shown genuine remorse and an understanding of the impact that she’d have caused on this very vulnerable victim,” said Ms Longcroft.

“She began substance abuse at the age of eight, encouraged by her parents who were entrenched drug users.

“Anyone can make different decisions, but she’s been blighted from a very young age.”

I hope you can find some peace in your life knowing that I’m in jail. I will do everything I can to be a better mother and woman…

In a letter written by Lynn to her victim and read aloud to the court, she said: “To the lady that I hurt I would like to say how deeply sorry I am for what I’ve done to you. I wish I could go back.

“Drugs had taken me to the worst of places in my life.

“I hope you can find some peace in your life knowing that I’m in jail. I will do everything I can to be a better mother and woman.

Lynn could be seen crying in the dock during various points of the hearing.

Sentencing her and her co-defendant on Thursday, Judge Taylor referred to the pensioner’s victim impact statement.

“She described how you left her sore, bruised and violated, and restrained in such a way that she could have died; she says she’s been in a state of panic ever since,” said the judge.

“She says her hands and feet have been very sore and that’s made it difficult for her to sleep. She has since been prescribed anti-depressants and has begun losing confidence.

“You hit her with a book multiple times while she was restrained - that was totally grotesque and unnecessary.

“Ransacking the property went way beyond was what necessary to commit the crime you had set out to commit.

“Focusing on the harm that you caused, the effect of what you did was turning your victim’s life upside-down, to betray her trust in her own home, and whether that will ever come back we just don’t know.”

In light of his 25 previous appearances in court, Foord was said to pose a "significant risk" to the public and was therefore handed a 15-year extended sentence.

This comprises 12 years' imprisonment, of which he will have to serve at least two-thirds before he can apply for parole, and then once released, a further three years will be added to any licence period.

Lynn was given a 10-year sentence, of which she will serve two-thirds behind bars and the remainder out on licence.