Masked pair carrying sawn-off shotgun and machete stormed Northumberland house in early morning raid

Raiders armed with a sawn-off shotgun and machete left a householder terrified after luring him to the door with his former friend.

The victim answered the door early one morning to find Declan McKenna there, apparently apologetic after an earlier falling out. But his presence was a ruse to help two other men storm the house.

The victim was assaulted with the gun and stabbed during the raid as the pair searched for valuables. The duo, who had their faces covered, have never been identified by the police but now McKenna has been jailed for the role he played.

Newcastle Crown Court heard it was around 7.30am on March 9 this year that the victim was at home in Seghill, Northumberland. He was expecting his partner so when there was a knock at the door he answered without looking.

At the door was McKenna, who the victim had know for two to three years but with whom he had fallen out a few months earlier. McKenna apologised for the previous incident and said he wanted to get back on good terms.

James Yearsley, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "As they were talking, two men wearing dark clothing and gloves barged past them and pinned the victim behind the door."

A doorbell camera at a neighbouring home captured the three men arriving together. McKenna left the scene after the other two barged into the victim's home.

Mr Yearsley said: "As the victim was pinned behind the front door the other men hit him to the head with what he thought was a baseball bat. They went upstairs and demanded to know where his money and jewellery were.

"He then realised the man he thought had a baseball bat was in fact carrying a sawn-off shotgun and the other man had a machete. He was violently assaulted and was hit repeatedly with the butt of the sawn-off shotgun. This man also had a knife."

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The court heard the victim was stabbed twice in the back, a necklace was pulled from his neck and an untidy search of cupboards was carried out.

He was left with lacerations to his scalp, forehead, lip and back and had significant bruising and swelling to his eye. He said in a victim impact statement he was left shaken up and "a bit anxious and depressed". He also said he didn't want to leave the house and his partner was scared to visit him in case something else happened.

McKenna, 35, of Laycock Gardens, Seghill, was originally charged with aggravated burglary but prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the lesser offence of burglary. He was jailed for 19 months.

Andrew Walker, defending, said: "All of the worst aspects were carried out by the two other individuals who have not been properly identified by the police. The defendant's role began and ended with the ringing of the doorbell so the victim would come to the door and answer to someone he knew.

"What happened thereafter was dreadful and very serious but was carried out by the other two individuals. They went in while the defendant fled the scene." Mr Walker said McKenna had no desire to cause trouble for the victim but was intimidated into playing the role he did at their behest. The court heard he is taking steps in prison to deal with his crack cocaine addiction.

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