War hero, 89, scared out of home by drug addict's knife robbery

Jan 14 2009 by Andrew Hirst, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

He left with £50 after cutting the telephone wires, but returned on May 10. The pensioner had left the door ajar again, but this time with a door chain on. Steadman forced the door open and again demanded money, stealing £100 from under a cushion.

The callous raider returned for a third time on May 31, waiting until some visitors left to get inside.

He had a knife, threatened the victim and this time stole £80.

Prosecuting barrister Bashir Ahmed told the court the pensioner was so scared of the robber returning again he could not sleep and suffered flashbacks about what had happened. He felt he had no alternative but to move.

Ordering Steadman to serve a minimum of four-and-a-half years before he could apply for parole, Judge Robert Bartfield said he should be detained until the authorities were satisfied he was no longer a risk, particularly to the elderly.

Steadman was initially jailed for six years last July for a burglary at a pensioner’s home, when similar offences were taken into consideration. At that time the full scale of his offending was not known.