TWO Bolton brothers burgled terrified housebound pensioners in their homes while they were forced to sit and watch, Bolton Crown Court heard yesterday.

Darren Conway, 28, and Shane Conway, 26, both of Parkfield Avenue, Farnworth, were each jailed for five years.

Judge Bruce Macmillan described both men as "a threat to society, particularly to the elderly".

The court heard that one woman, aged 86, died weeks after they locked her in her home after a burglary and another victim had given up her home of 20 years.

Both men pleaded guilty to a series of burglaries, mostly targeting elderly and infirm old women. Darren Conway pleaded guilty to five burglaries and his brother Shane to four.

Richard Heap, prosecuting, described how the pair carried out their burglaries in full view of their victims who were powerless to stop them because of their frailty.

He told how one, Mrs Elsie Mutton, aged 86, confined to a wheelchair, tried to resist but they simply pushed her back in the chair.

When they left with her TV set and hi-fi stereo, they took her keys and used them to lock her inside the house. Mr Heap said neighbours saw them leaving and were able to release Mrs Mutton.

After the experience Mrs Mutton's health rapidly deteriorated and she died a few weeks later in hospital.

The burglary carried out by Darren Conway alone was on a 78-year-old woman who had her bed in her living room and was forced to watch helplessly while he ransacked her home stealing two purses and her hearing aid. He left behind his fingerprints enabling police to trace him, Mr Heap said. In another instance, Darren Conway forced his way into the home of an 83-year-old woman and then let his brother in at the back before going through rooms emptying cupboards.

When the woman tried to use the "panic button" which she wore round her neck for emergencies, they stopped her from pressing it and they smashed her telephone terminal.

They also burgled the home of a younger woman, Angela Berry, 35, by one of them keeping a neighbour talking downstairs while the other ransacked upstairs.

Mr Heap said that Detective Constable Stephen Haslam, one of the officers investigating the Conways' crimes, had revisited the victims immediately prior to the court case to find out what the long term effects of their experiences had been.

One of them had had to give up the house she had lived in for 20 years and another had had to be taken into residential care. She had now returned home but was under constant supervision.

Mrs Mutton's death could not be attributed to her burglary although the experience had preceded a decline in her health Mr Heap stated. Both Conways had long police records he added.

Stephen Meadowcroft, for Darren Conway, said the case was an example of the harmful effects of drug taking.

His client was a regular user of heroin and cocaine and needed the money he made from burglary to buy drugs. He was now thoroughly ashamed of himself.

Neil Fryman, for Shane Conway, said his client was also a heroin and cocaine addict who was now horrified by what he had done.

Judge Bruce Macmillan said the only mitigating feature was that the brothers had both pleaded guilty which meant that their victims had been spared the ordeal of coming to court to testify.

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