An 89-year-old woman was beaten and bound up by masked burglars who stole her wedding ring from her finger.
The pensioner told Canterbury Crown Court how she was left in a ‘state of panic’ after Anthony Foord, 45, and Amie Lynn, 38, broke into her home in Dymchurch, Kent, at around 4am on April 14.
They even threatened to make her drink laundry detergent if she did not give them money.
When they broke into her home, they woke her up by tying her hands and feet together with cables – before telling her to ‘do as you’re told and everything will be alright’.
Foord flipped her mattress in search of cash – before tearing the rings from her fingers and a necklace from her neck.
He then used a book to repeatedly hit her over the head.
The pair also smashed her mobile phone and poured bleach all over her house – destroying the items which they did not steal.
Foord and Lynn were arrested on the same morning of the attack – with Lynn spitting in the face of an officer as she was taken into custody.
They pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, while Lynn also admitted assaulting an emergency worker.
In a letter written by Lynn to her victim, 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.’
Judge Simon Taylor KC said: ‘[The victim] described how you left her sore, bruised, and violated, and restrained in such a way that she could have died.
‘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 took items of sentimental value, such as family photographs, you took her car keys, her bus pass, even her medication.
‘Ransacking the property went way beyond what was 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.
‘You betrayed her trust in her own home, and whether that will ever come back, we just don’t know.’
Foord was handed a 15-year extended sentence and the judge explained that he posed ‘a significant risk’ to the public in light of his 25 previous appearances in court.
This comprises 12 years’ imprisonment, of which he will have to serve at least two-thirds before he can apply for parole. Once released, Foord will then have an extra three years 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.
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