A robber who broke into a home and assaulted a sleeping pensioner has been jailed.

Dressed from head to toe in black, Andrew McNair climbed through a bedroom window before attacking Arthur Chew – who was 75 at the time – and stealing cash.

The 28-year-old, of Warden Bay Road, Warden, admitted robbery and was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday to five years and four months’ imprisonment.

McNair was one of three men who entered Mr Chew’s home in Minster's Kent Avenue at about 9.30pm on October 10 last year.

Mr Chew was alone and asleep on a living room chair when he was suddenly hit in the face by one of the assailants, who were all dressed in black and wearing balaclavas and gloves.

The offenders then continued to strike him in the face and demanded he hand over money.

To put a stop to the assault, Mr Chew told the offenders that £600 was being stored in a nearby bag but, despite taking the money, they continued to demand more before eventually leaving.

After they left, it was established they had entered the property through a bedroom window.

A crime scene investigator examined the scene and was able to extract a DNA sample from the window, which provided a match for McNair.

McNair was not previously known to the victim and has refused to identify his co-offenders. He was arrested on suspicion of the offence 18 days later and has been remanded in custody since.

Detective Constable Matt Sherriff, Kent Police’s investigating officer for the case, said: "Andrew McNair has shown himself to be a coward who is capable of inflicting appalling cruelty on an elderly man who was asleep when he began the attack.

"His willingness to use such violence shows him to be a very real danger to the public and I am pleased that he has now faced justice.

"I hope that this result provides the victim with a degree of reassurance. The offence committed against him was abhorrent and there are people out there who have knowledge that can help us identify the remaining offenders.

"It is never too late to contact us with details on an offence and I would encourage anyone with information to call us on 01795 419119, report it through our website or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org."

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