Man locked his grandmother in a shed before burgling her home

A 21-year-old man imprisoned his grandmother in a freezing cold shed and then went into her home and stole her cash, Mold Crown Court has heard.

Dorothy Harrison, 62, who had taken Richard Harrison into her Welshpool home when his mother turned him out, feared she would be there all night.

Judge John Rogers QC told the defendant he had been guilty of wicked offences. "Your grandmother, who gave you a home and fed you, is a lady with mobility problems and who suffers from asthma," the judge said. On this night you lured her out of her own home into the shed, which you locked. You ignored her pleas to be released.

"You then went back into her home, smashed her china cabinet and stole £15 in cash. Had it not been for neighbour Geoffrey Meredith, your grandmother might well have spent the whole night in that shed which could have had a fatal effect on her health. Only prison is appropriate."

It was freezing cold, she used a plastic pram cover which was to try and keep warm to no avail, and broke the door handle while trying to open it. It was so cold that the window had frozen over.

Harrison admitted false imprisonment, damage and theft and was jailed for 18 months.