Their vulnerable victims have been left physically and mentally scarred by the actions of these cruel criminals.
These North East thugs preyed on vulnerable pensioners. While some subjected their helpless victims to brutal attacks, others saw an opportunity to steal cash and sentimental items from them. One victim handed over £13,850 to a scammer for work which a surveyor found was unwarranted and should have cost £1,200.
Another victim was a 84-year-old who was shot with a BB gun. He will have pellets embedded in his body for the rest of his life as doctors have deemed it too dangerous to remove them. And in a separate attack a 65-year-old victim was convinced he was going to die as a man half his age began laying into his victim for seven minutes in a completely unprovoked attack.
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These are the lowlifes who preyed on vulnerable pensioners for disgraceful crimes:
Mark Skelton
A disabled pensioner was returning home when despicable thug Mark Skelton attacked and robbed him on his doorstep. The 75-year-old amputee, who has a prosthetic leg and walks with a stick, briefly lost consciousness and was left bloodied and bruised after being targeted by Skelton who then stole his car and wrote it off.
When he came round, he saw his BMW, which he described as "effectively my legs", had been stolen. Skelton, 30, then crashed it nearby, writing it off and damaging two other vehicles in the process.
A court heard the formerly "fiercely independent" pensioner has now been left anxious and nervous about leaving his home. In a statement read at Newcastle Crown Court, he said: "As a result of being attacked my whole life has been turned upside down. I was attacked on my own doorstep and now I don't feel safe living like I used to, especially as I live on my own.
"I have been dependent on my car to move about and get out. When that man stole my car he stole what are effectively my legs for getting out and about."
Skelton, of Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay, pleaded guilty to robbery and aggravated vehicle taking and was jailed for 40 months. He was also given a five-year restraining order and will be banned from driving for three years following his release.
Muhammad Ramzan
Muhammad Ramzan betrayed the trust of his 90-year-old neighbour by stealing cheques from her while delivering fruit. The despicable thief helped himself to blank cheques from the middle of the pensioner's chequebook while visiting her home seemingly doing a good deed.
And when Ramzan tried to cash a cheque for £3,700 in his name, fortunately the victim's bank realised it was suspicious so he didn't get his hands on her money. Newcastle Crown Court heard the 90-year-old had lived in her home on Heaton Road, Heaton, Newcastle for 45 years.
She lives alone and Ramzan's mum supports her and has a spare key in case of emergencies. A court heard she has been left devastated and ashamed of her son's actions.
Ramzan, who had also helped the victim, attended her home with his wife in September 2020 and gave her some fruit.
Omar Ahmad, prosecuting, said: "He carried it into the kitchen and when alone in the kitchen he took the opportunity to open a drawer and take hold of her chequebook. He stole three blank cheques from the middle of it and put it back in the drawer."
The victim said in a statement she was "so upset with it all" and that it was "heart breaking" to see Ramzan's mother's reaction. She added: "I feel awful for her being so ashamed of him. I'm so annoyed with him and how he thought he could take my money from me and how upset he has made his mother."
Ramzan, 30, of Newton Road, High Heaton, Newcastle, who has 17 previous convictions, including for excess alcohol, robbery and burglary, pleaded guilty to burglary and fraud by false representation. Judge Christopher Prince sentenced him to nine months suspended for 18 months with 200 hours unpaid work.
Stephen O'Kane
Despicable scammer Stephen O'Kane cruelly tricked vulnerable elderly people out of their life savings in a roofing con - with one widower losing £126,000.
The 38-year-old deliberately targeted older people, charming them into trusting him, frightening them into believing work was necessary and then fleecing them for every penny he could get his hands on. In total, O'Kane took more than £175,000 from victims in Whitley Bay, Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland although he claimed a gang of travellers he was working for took most of it.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the victims of the sophisticated scam have been left traumatised by the fact they fell victim to it. One victim handed over £13,850, for work which a surveyor found was unwarranted and should have cost £1,200.
Another 80-year-old victim lost £126,000 and was prevented from handing over a further £20,000 when his bank intervened.
O'Kane, of Borough Road, Middlesbrough, who has 31 previous convictions, including driving offences and perverting justice, pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud, possessing articles for use in fraud, fraudulent use of a vehicle registration and having no insurance or licence. He was jailed for 57 months and will be banned from driving for a year when he is released.
Robert Bain
Burglar Robert Bain posed as a boiler engineer to trick his way into a vulnerable pensioner's home and steal from her.
Bain, 33, had been released from a blackmail prison sentence on licence when he targeted the 82-year-old in her bungalow. The victim, who has mobility issues and lives alone in Whickham, Gateshead, was in her front room reading on October 30 last year when there was suddenly a loud bang on her window.
She opened her door and saw Bain, who said he was there to service her boiler and despite her saying she was not expecting him, he insisted, so she let him in. Kevin Wardlaw, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "He began looking at the radiators in the kitchen and living room then went to the rest of the bungalow and returned to the living room after five minutes.
"He was abrupt and a little rude and said he could do nothing with the radiators today but would return. After he left, she went in her bedroom and found a search had been made of drawers in her bedside cabinet, it was a messy search."
Bain had stolen £35 from the pensioner's handbag. She said: "He has preyed on me due to my age and vulnerability."
Bainof Goshen Street, Bensham, Gateshead, who has 37 previous convictions, including seven for house burglaries, pleaded guilty to burglary. He had been released on licence after a six year prison sentence was imposed in 2018 for two offences of blackmail. He was jailed for 45 months.
Claire McCready
Cruel Claire McCready stole "irreplaceable" sentimental photographs and cash from a pensioner as he dozed in his living room.
McCready was with a man when she sneaked into the home of a man in his 70s. They stole his wallet and were seen by a neighbour running away on Carlisle Place, Gateshead, on the evening of June 12 last year.
As McCready, 40, was sentenced, the pensioner said in a statement read to Newcastle Crown Court that he has felt unsafe since the burglary and found himself locking the door when he's home. He added that his health has suffered mentally and physically and he has had panic attacks.
McCready, of Kendal Crescent, Beacon Lough, Gateshead, who has 16 previous convictions, but had been out of trouble for a long time, pleaded guilty to burglary. Recorder Mark Giuliani sentenced her to two years suspended for two years with a lifelong restraining order.
Fiona Lamb, defending, said: "She is very remorseful and feels sorry for the complainant. She didn't mean to make him feel unsafe."
The court heard she has had "a lot of trauma in her life and seeks solace in illegal drugs". Her mum is also seriously ill and her husband and brother died.
Daniel Sullivan
Burglar Daniel Sullivan shot an 84-year-old man as he desperately tried to fend him off with a mop. The balaclava-clad raider walked into the pensioner's home wearing black clothes, carrying a gun and demanding £100.
But when the pensioner refused to give him money and picked up a mop to try to chase off the unwelcome stranger, Sullivan opened fire with a BB gun, hitting the pensioner three times.
The victim said he no longer likes to go out or visit the social club like he used to and even a pet cat which was given to him by his family has not helped him feel better. He added that some of the pellets will remain embedded in his body for the rest of his life as doctors have deemed it too dangerous to remove them.
Sullivan, 32, of no fixed address, was found guilty of aggravated burglary, wounding with intent and possessing a firearm following a trial, after DNA linked him to the scene of the crime in South Shields, in January 2020.
He had previously pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm with intent and ammunition while prohibited.
Now he has been branded a dangerous offender and told he must serve at least two-thirds of a 14-year sentence, which had an extra two years on licence added.
Kerrie O'Neil and Lisa Palmer
Kerrie O'Neil and Lisa Palmer left their 74-year-old victim traumatised when they robbed him in a churchyard. The pensioner said he had gone into the grounds of the church in Gateshead to look at ornaments when he encountered Kerrie O'Neil and Lisa Palmer.
A court heard O'Neil, who has 112 previous convictions, used force to steal £100 from the pensioner, while Palmer joined in near the end. Part of the offence at St Joseph's Church was caught on CCTV, with the victim, who had visible mobility issues, trying to grab one of the women to get his wallet back. O'Neil and Palmer were identified from the good quality CCTV and arrested later that day.
O'Neil, 34, of Redheugh Court, Teams, Gateshead and Palmer, 29, of Milton Road, Whickham, Gateshead, both admitted robbery. Recorder Richard Wright QC jailed O'Neil, who has 112 previous convictions, for 30 months and sentenced Palmer, who has five previous convictions, to 20 months suspended for two years with rehabilitation.
Leanne Bramwell
Property company boss Leanne Bramwell fleeced an 89-year-old retired doctor out of more than £50,000 - but was ordered to pay back just £1 of her ill-gotten gains. She abused her position of trust at a property management firm and betrayed the former consultant orthopaedic surgeon by failing to send him money owed on his rental properties.
When the victim's daughter noticed what was going on and pursued Bramwell for answers, she maliciously reported her to the police for harassment and the daughter ended up being cautioned despite doing nothing wrong.
When Bramwell was sentenced last September, a judge said only the fact the 40-year-old is a single mother who cares for her poorly mother and stepdad saved her from the prison sentence she "deserves".
Prosecutors had sought to claw back the money she made under the Proceeds of Crime Act but in a new hearing, Newcastle Crown Court was told she has no "available assets". As a result, despite benefiting to the tune of £57,700.54, she must pay back just a nominal £1, unless she comes into money in the future.
The retired doctor owns ten rental properties in the North East and Bramwell's firm, Libra Properties, were trusted to help with their management. But after the death of the doctor's wife, who was his practice manager and helped to maintain his affairs, Bramwell began withholding payments due to him.
Bramwell, 40, of Penrith Gardens, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to two years suspended for two years and must do 150 hours of unpaid work.
Liam Irving
Liam Irving subjected a pensioner to extreme violence and left him battered and bloodied after laying into him with around 90 kicks, stamps and punches for absolutely no reason. Irving spent seven minutes delivering sickening blows to his victim's head and body, including taking a run up to kick his head and steadying himself against a wall to stamp with full force on his him during the attack in the foyer of his block of flats in Newcastle.
A court heard Irving can be seen on CCTV of the onslaught "strutting around as if you were pleased with what you were doing" and talking toward the camera as he gave himself a breather from the ferocious attack.
He ignored the pleas for mercy by his battered and bloodied 65-year-old victim, who was convinced he was going to die. The victim who eventually managed to get up off the foyer floor and summon help, had what were initially thought to be life-threatening injuries and spent three weeks in hospital. He had 11 broken ribs, multiple facial fractures and extensive soft tissue injuries to his head and face.
Irving, 33, of Cartmel Grove, Gateshead, who has 81 previous convictions, including for violence, was originally charged with attempted murder but prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to GBH with intent. Jailing Irving for nine years, Judge Robert Adams said: "This was a ferocious attack which lasted seven minutes.
"There was no obvious motive at all, it was wholly unprovoked and was a vicious and sustained attack."
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