Clinton Jackson , 25 , was jailed for 18 years for targeting the pensioners in their home . A gang of thugs who battered an 81-year-old woman with a metal bar as they ransacked her home were jailed for a total of 44 years . Jermaine Kellman , 29 , Marvin Sempler , 30 , Clinton Jackson , 25 , and Darren Lewis , 34 , targeted the couple in their 80s after they were tipped off that money was kept in their home in Welwyn Garden City , Hertfordshire . Verna Fisher , then 81 , awoke in total darkness in the early hours of 31 July last year confronted by four men wearing white balaclavas and gloves . She tried to cry out for help , but Lewis had his hand clasped over her mouth while demanding money , the Old Bailey heard . Mrs Fisher was thrown off the bed while the burglars took her purse containing £250 and a mobile phone from under her pillow . But the men continued to demand more money before Lewis struck the pensioner twice with a metal bar , leaving her covered in blood , prosecutor Philip Evans said . Her bed-ridden husband Mortimer , who was 85 , was sleeping in another room and woke with a man standing over him , but was powerless to help his wife . The couple were so traumatised by the terrifying ordeal that they had to leave their home . Mrs Fisher now lives with her daughter , while Mr Fisher sadly passed away in October 2014 . There were gasps from the public gallery as Jackson was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment and brothers Kellman and Sempler were each handed 13-year jail terms . Lewis will be sentenced later this month . Judge Steven Gullick said offences of violence committed at night in the homes of the elderly and vulnerable must be met with significant custodial sentences . ‘ As a direct result of this burglary Mr and Mrs Fisher had to leave their home . They no longer felt safe there . ‘ They have never and will never return . Sadly Mr Fisher died in October 2014 , Mrs Fisher now lives with her daughter , ’ the judge said . The court heard a cousin of Sempler and Kellman , who had worked for the Fishers as a cleaner , told the brothers that the couple kept cash in their home . Brothers Jermaine Kellman , right , and Marvin Sempler , left , were each handed 13-year jail terms . Judge Gullick said : ‘ Armed with a metal bar and each wearing masks you forced entry into the Fishers ’ home in the early hours of the morning . ‘ Mrs Fisher , aged 81 , was asleep in her bedroom . Mr Fisher , who was 85 and had been bed-ridden for a number of years , was asleep in what was nominally the living room of that house . ‘ He was quite unable to do anything by way of protecting his wife. ’ The four men went into Mrs Fisher ’ s bedroom , where she usually slept with the light on , and turned the light off . ‘ You went their because you understood that was where the cash was , ’ the judge told them . ‘ The four of you surrounded her bed and she woke up to find four men , wearing masks standing over her , one with his hand over her mouth . ‘ The room was in complete darkness , she was terrified. ’ Lewis was the man brandishing an eight or nine inch metal bar as he demanded money off the petrified pensioner , the prosecutor said . Judge Steven Gullick at the Old Bailey , pictured , said offences of violence committed at night in the homes of the elderly and vulnerable must be met with significant custodial sentences . Mrs Fisher was then thrown off her bed and the gang found a purse , containing £250 and her bank cards , and a mobile phone under her pillow . ‘ Lewis continued to demand money and to reinforce his demands struck her twice on the nose with the metal bar , ’ Judge Gullick said . He also demanded she give him the PIN number to her bank cards , the court heard . ‘ Despite her ordeal Mrs Fisher had the presence of mind to give Lewis numbers to cards she knew were not in her purse , ’ the judge added . Kellman , of Wandsworth , southeast London ; Sempler , of Lewisham , and Lewis , of Croydon pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated burglary . Jackson , of Norwood , south London , was convicted of the same offence following a trial at St Albans Crown Court .
Gang targeted home of Vera Fisher , 81 , and her bed-ridden husband , 85 . They were tipped off the OAPs kept money in their Hertfordshire home . Clinton Jackson , 25 , was jailed for 18 years at the Old Bailey . The gang also used a fake charity to launder cash from drug dealers.