Saw threat burglar loses sentence appeal

A burglar who threatened to saw off a pensioner's head in front of her husband has failed in a bid to reduce his jail sentence.

Dudley father-of-two Lee Wells subjected the couple, aged 73 and 72, to an ordeal of terror after sneaking into their home and threatening them with a knife and a saw while demanding cash.

He was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment for public protection. He challenged the sentence at the Court of Appeal yesterday but his case was rejected as "unarguable".

Mr Justice Sweeney said the seriousness of the attacks on the couple justified the conclusion that Wells, aged 24, of Hillside Road, Wrens Nest, Dudley, is a "dangerous" offender.

Wells entered the couple's home at midday on August 10 last year, the court was told. He had first knocked to enquire about a fishpond which was being sold by the pensioners' son. The elderly man returned home from a nearby shop and made the mistake of leaving the door ajar.

Wells slipped inside when no-one was looking but when the couple heard a noise upstairs, the husband went to investigate. He was confronted by Wells who pushed him over, dislocating his shoulder.

His wife went to see what was happening and she was grabbed and pushed downstairs. Wells then picked up a knife and held it to her throat. He then grabbed a saw left behind by builders and threatened to cut off her head.

He left empty-handed and denied the offence when he was arrested.

Wells was convicted of two counts of assault with intent to rob at Wolverhampton Crown Court in January.

At the Court of Appeal yesterday Wells challenged the open-ended nature of the sentence on the basis that his previous offending did not suggest he posed such a risk of harm.

But Mr Justice Sweeney dismissed the appeal and said the offences represented "an escalation of offending, such as to give rise to a significant risk in future."