A VIOLENT knifeman who tried to rob and injured a "vulnerable" pensioner in his own home has been jailed for eight years.

Drug addict Samuel Caddis, 29, who claimed he had been put up to the attack on Milton Duxbury to pay back a debt, had targeted the 74-year-old victim, pushed his way into his Burnley property and knocked him to the floor.

As Mr Duxbury lay helpless, Caddis brandished a knife, said he was going to use it, and also produced a screwdriver, Burnley Crown Court heard.

A scuffle followed in which the victim, who had tried to fight his assailant off with his walking stick, suffered a "nasty" cut to his hand.

His frightening ordeal was ended by two plucky young passers-by, Jabbar Ali and Mohammed Khan, who stopped their car and dashed to the pensioner's aid after spotting the doorway incident.

Caddis, of Helmsdale Road, Nelson, who had only just come out of jail, had admitted attempted robbery. He had a record for burglary and theft.

Sentencing, Judge Beverley Lunt told Caddis it was difficult to accept he had been made to rob the victim.

She said: “Even if that was the case, you are a grown man. You knew exactly what you were doing and decdied to do it."

The judge commended the "courage and public spirited" actions of Mr Ali and Mr Khan and awarded each of them £250 to mark "the court's appreciation" for their efforts in rescuing Mr Duxbury.

The victim was in court to see the case and Judge Lunt told him after sending Caddis to custody: "I hope this brings you some peace of mind."

Martin Hackett, for Caddis, said his behaviour had been terrible and would continue to have a profound effect upon the victim.

The defendant, for what it was worth, had written a letter to the court, apologising for what he had done.

Speaking at his home in Daneshouse, Mr Duxbury said: “The sentence has made my day. It was good news for the police and good news for me.

“Everyone around here knows what happened and knows me. I tried to fight him off but he’s 29 and I’m nearly 75.”