Cowardly burglar jailed after picking on the wrong pensioner in a night raid – as the OAP confronted thug in a show of ‘incredible bravery’ and smashed a glass bottle over his head

A cowardly burglar picked on the wrong pensioner in a night raid.

The 74-year-old was awoken in the early hours when he heard Shamus Doyle break into his semi-detached home.

He confronted the thug and, in a show of ‘incredible bravery’, he smashed a glass bottle over Doyle’s head. The OAP then chased him off, a court heard.

Though Doyle fled the property in Newark, Notts, on February 19, he reappeared in the man’s back garden a short time later with a brick. 

He then threatened to attack the OAP but, when he was told the police were on the way, he threw the masonry through the pensioner’s living room window and again ran off.

Officers found Doyle nearby with a bloodied head but he attempted to deny having any involvement with the burglary.

Shamus Doyle who was left to rue breaking into a pensioner’s home

Shamus Doyle threw a brick through his victim’s window in the early hours of 19 February this year

The thug, who needed hospital treatment for his injuries, tried to insist he had got into a fight at a park. Yet Doyle’s blood was not only found at the pensioner’s home but CCTV also showed him in the area at the time of the break-in, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

Doyle, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to burglary, criminal damage and using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause a person harassment. He was jailed for two years and 174 days.

DC Phil James, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: ‘This was a truly appalling crime that demonstrates the depths of what some criminals are prepared to do.

‘Burglary is an intrusive crime anyway, but for Doyle to subject a man aged in his 70s to a terrifying ordeal like this is truly shocking. The victim demonstrated incredible bravery in confronting Doyle and was understandably affected by the events of that night.

‘Despite this, he managed to display great resilience in assisting us with our investigation and I hope this sentence brings him some comfort.

‘The force treats all reports of burglary seriously and continues to work tirelessly to prevent incidents from happening in the first place.

‘The public can have faith that reports will be investigated, and we will relentlessly pursue individuals believed to be responsible for these sorts of upsetting crimes.’

The law states homeowners can use ‘reasonable force’ against intruders inside their homes.

That can include protecting yourself ‘in the heat of the moment’ and using ‘something to hand as a weapon’, guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service states.