A GANG of machete wielding attackers who hacked at a pensioner in his own home with a machete have been sentenced to a total of 71 years behind bars.

Thugs Louis Hamilton, Ziggy Cawley, Ashton Holland, Jacob Holland and Macauley Heald were on their way to a house party at Ainsworth Road, Bury, in the early hours of April 17 last year when their car broke down.

After abandoning the vehicle they walked along Bolton and Bury Road until they came to the detached home of retired couple Dorothy and Robert Holman in Higher Ainsworth at 7.40am and decided to steal their cars.

The gang kicked the front door in with such force that it came off its hinges and they attacked 70-year-old Mr Holman in his kitchen, where he had gone to make a cup of tea.

A machete was aimed at the pensioner’s head and, as he raised his arms to defend himself, his elbow joint was severed.

“He was not even given any real chance to comply with your demands for his car keys before the machete was used upon him,” Judge Richard Gioserano told the defendants.

“You all bear joint responsibility for this callous brutality with a fearsome weapon upon a defenceless man in his own home, leaving him seriously and permanently hurt, still now in pain with restricted movement in his arm — he and his wife traumatised.

“All this because your car broke down and you did not want to walk the remaining distance to the house party.

“Such callous brutality defies comprehension but must be met with severe punishment.”

Hamilton, Cawley and Ashton Holland, appeared at Bolton Crown Court for sentence via video link from prison. Jacob Holland and Heald were sentenced in their absence after refusing to attend the video link room.

Hamilton, who was sentenced on his 28th birthday, was ruled to be a dangerous offender who poses a significant risk of serious harm to the public and was given an extended 18 year prison sentence with a further two years on licence. He will not be eligible to apply for parole for at least 12 years.

As he was sentenced Hamilton, of Hudson Close, Bolton, shouted, “You’ve ruined my birthday” and made throat cutting gestures.

A psychiatric report on Hamilton had shown that he has an emotionally unstable personality disorder compounded by a long history of substance misuse.

Ziggy Cawley, aged 24, of Rollesby Close, Bury, was also deemed to be dangerous and handed the same extended 18-year sentence, whilst Ashton Holland, aged 26, of Barry Crescent, Little Hulton, was also ruled to be dangerous and handed an extended 14 year prison sentence.

His brother, Jacob Holland, aged 27, of no fixed address, was jailed for eight years and Macauley Heald, aged 20, of Ridyard Street, Little Hulton, was sentenced to 13 years behind bars.

Cawley and Jacob Holland had admitted causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Holman but Hamilton, Ashton Holland and Heald had all denied the charge and was found guilty by a jury following a trial.

Following the attack Heald and Ashton Holland made off in the Holmans’ Golf, abandoning it a short distance away and attempted to rob an 81-year-old woman of her car before stealing alcohol from her garage in Starling Road. They admitted committing the offences.

Cawley was captured after running across nearby fields and Jacob Holland and Hamilton made off in the Holmans’ Mercedes. They were later arrested and when the car was found abandoned in Ainsworth Road a machete covered with Mr Holman’s blood was found inside.

In addition to the attack at the Holmans’ house Ziggy Cawley was sentenced for a separate offence of violent disorder in Bury on January 29 last year, two attempted aggravated burglaries when he tried to break into houses in Bury armed with a machete and an aggravated burglary and intentional grievous bodily harm in Bury.

Hamilton had also been present at the later burglary at Canterbury Drive, Bury, attacking the home owner with a baseball bat, breaking his arm. He admitted the offences and was unsuccessful when he later tried to change his plea.The court heard that Cawley, Hamilton and Ashton Holland all had previous convictions for violence and Cawley had even posted a picture of himself on Facebook holding a machete captioned “Me n my best mate haha.”

Judge Gioserano condemned Cawley for “glorifying in the possession and use of a machete” adding that the caption on the photograph illustrated his “dangerous and distorted thinking”.

The jury had also been shown pictures of Cawley Hamilton and Jacob Holland sat on a sofa at the Ainsworth Road party celebrating after the Canterbury Drive attack and just a short time before bursting into the Holmans’ home. They had spent the evening drinking and taking drugs, left the party to pick up Ashton Holland and Heald from Worsley and were on their way back when the car broke down.

Kevin Donnelly, defending Cawley, said his offending was underpinned by “unfortunate psychological trauma he has suffered” whilst William Staunton, defending Hamilton, Daniel Prowse, for Ashton Holland, Alexander Leach, for Jacob Holland and Zahra Baqri, for Heald, referred to the defendants’ troubled backgrounds.

Judge Gioserano stressed that it has not been established who wielded the machete against Mr Holman but all the gang were involved after they decided to steal a car “using the machete, if required, not just to terrify but to injure anybody who stood between you and a car”. Mr and Mrs Holman, who were in court to witness the sentences being passed, declined to comment.