Robber Gets Life After 'Terrifying Ordeals'

A man who attacked and robbed elderly women in "terrifying ordeals" in their own homes has been jailed for life.

Lee Roberts, of no fixed address, struck five times, knocking at the doors of pensioners and then bundling them inside when they answered.

His most shocking attack was on an 87-year-old woman who he "beat black and blue" in Chelmsley Wood, Solihull.

Roberts, 33, shoved his victim against a radiator and then dragged her from room to room as he demanded cash.

She was then left with a cushion tied tightly across her face as he fled with £500 in cash from a bedroom wardrobe.

Roberts went on to steal a TV and loose change from a 73-year-old and snatched a 91-year-old woman's pension after following her home.

He also stole a handbag from a pensioner when she answered the door, and ransacked a dementia sufferer's home.

Roberts was convicted of manslaughter in 2004 when a 90-year-old man he attacked in his home later died in hospital.

He was released in 2011 but detectives identified him as a possible suspect in a series of robberies last year.

He was linked to a Vauxhall Astra spotted in a supermarket car park and when officers examined the on-board tracker system they discovered the car had been parked outside each victim's address.

Roberts admitted four counts of robbery and one burglary at Birmingham Crown Court and was jailed for life.

He will spend at least six years and nine months in prison before being eligible for parole.

Investigating officer DC Arran Cox from Solihull Police CID described his crimes as "terrifying ordeals for his victims: they were threatened, assaulted and had to watch as their homes were ransacked".