'Barbaric' burglars who tortured couple with boiling water have jail sentence almost doubled

Two ”barbaric” burglars who tied up a couple in their home and poured boiling water over their heads have had their prison sentences almost doubled.

Kacey Adams, 34, and Daniel Wallace, 33, broke into John and Janis Buswell’s Kent bungalow as Mr Buswell, 66, watched TV and his 64-year-old wife knitted clothes for her expected great-grandchild.

During the break-in Adams, of Ilford, and Wallace, of Dagenham, tied the couple up with cable ties and subjected them to almost two hours of torture as they demanded the codes to their safes.

Both men, who had earlier been found guilty of conspiracy to murder after a man was shot in the face in a revenge attack, admitted aggravated burglary and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

They were jailed for life with a minimum term of 12 and a half years but three Court of Appeal judges have increased that minimum term to 23 years, saying the original sentences did not reflect the extreme gravity of the crimes.

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Mrs Buswell, who was left permanently disfigured by the attack, described the men as “barbaric”. They poured two kettles of boiling water over her and threatened to sever her fingers and gouge one of her eyes out. They poured one kettle over Mr Buswell, punched him repeatedly in the face and threatened to cut his ears off.

The pair made off with around £50,000 before going to Dubai on a spending spree and were arrested on their return with more than £18,000 of luxury goods in their luggage.