Robber who preyed on elderly residents "may never be released"

A THUG who shoved an 87-year-old woman against a radiator during a terrifying robbery at her Chelmsley Wood home has been jailed for life.

Lee Roberts (pictured) was caged after he was found guilty of targeting the pensioner and four other elderly women either side of the New Year.

Police described the raid in Bosworth Drive, which happened on December 20, as the most appalling of all.

During her ordeal, the woman was dragged from room-to-room as Roberts demanded cash. She suffered serious facial injuries after he pushed her against the radiator.

The 33-year-old thug fled the scene with £500 cash he’d found in a bedroom wardrobe, leaving the victim with a cushion tied across her face.

He went on to target a 73-year-old woman, in Stonebridge Crescent, Kingshurst, on January 2 and two days later snatched a 91-year-old’s pension after following her to her home in Colesbourne Road, near Solihull Ice Rink.

Later the same month he snatched a handbag from a woman’s doorstep in Hay Mills and ransacked the home of a dementia sufferer, again in Solihull.

The crook had previously been convicted of manslaughter ten years ago, after robbing the home of a 90-year-old in Hobs Moat. Neville Bassett had died five days after the break-in.

Roberts was released in 2011 but relapsed into crime. He was linked to the latest spate of offences after a Vauxhall Astra was discovered in an Olton car park on January 8. When detectives checked the vehicle’s on-board tracker they found that it had been parked outside the home of each of the victims at the time of the offences.

On Friday (July 4), Roberts, of no fixed abode, admitted four counts of robbery and one burglary at Birmingham Crown Court. Judge Roderick Henderson ordered he serve at least six years and nine months behind bars.

Det Con Arran Cox, from Solihull CID, said: “These were terrifying ordeals for his victims: they were threatened, assaulted and had to watch as their homes were ransacked.

“He has a track record of nasty rush robberies and has already served many years in prison after one victim, who he left with broken ribs, died from pneumonia as a result of his injuries.

“Residents can now feel reassured that Roberts is no longer free to commit such despicable offences – and may never emerge from prison if authorities deem he poses a risk in the future.”