A grandfather was attacked by a burglar in front of his two young grandchildren and had to jump over a wall to avoid being struck by the getaway car, a court was told.
The man, from the village of Broom in Bedfordshire, suffered cuts, bruising and swelling to the face as he tried to stop the men who had got away with jewellery and other property worth £1,500.
On Wednesday, December 22, 2021, the getaway driver 26-year-old Kieran Pratchett from Clacton was jailed at Luton Crown Court for a total of 63 months.
Prosecutor Giles Fleming said the grandparents and the children, aged four and two, heard noises when they returned to the home in Southill Road at around a quarter past four in the afternoon of October 30, 2020.
One of the burglars Stevie White came down the stairs and knocked the 62-year-old grandfather to the ground as he tried to stop him escaping.
When White pushed past his wife the two-year-old child was knocked to the floor. The grandfather bravely chased after him and there was a struggle in the driveway, which left him with cuts, bruising and swelling to his face.
White and Thomas Turner got into the car driven by Pratchett, a banger racer enthusiast.
The grandfather did not give up and chased after them. Pratchett reversed at speed and he had to jump over a wall.
He ran back to the front of the car and had to step away as Pratchett drove off at speed. He crashed three miles away. Turner was arrested at the scene.
White and Pratchett were identified by their DNA. At an earlier hearing in March Stevie White, 37, from Colchester was jailed for seven and a half year and Thomas Turner, 32, from Braintree, was jailed for 63 months.
Both had admitted burglary. Pratchett, 26, of Talbot Avenue, Clacton appeared for sentence having pleaded guilt to burglary and dangerous driving.
He was in breach of a suspended sentence.
Mr Fleming said the victims of the burglary were now in fear being in their home and are considering selling the property.
Iwona Boesche, defending, said: “He (Pratchett) was the getaway driver and did not go in the property and was not involved in the physical violence. He played a lesser role.”
She said he had been diagnosed with ADHD and had a long history of mental health problems.
Jailing him, Recorder Patrick Fields told Pratchett: “When you go into someone’s home and steal their belongings you steal not merely their possessions, you steal the peace of mind of the householder. They have that spectre hanging over them for ever.”
