A GANG who stabbed and robbed a North Yorkshire man in his own home has been jailed for more than 60 years.

Joel Richard Hutchinson, 30, Lewis Jordan Walker, 29, Jason Henriques, 25, and Shelby Bruce, 24, threw a boulder through the window of a house in Lands Lane, Knaresborough, on the night of May 14, 2015.

Once inside, they confronted and attacked the homeowners - a man in his forties and a woman in her thirties - who were upstairs, and demanded they hand over jewellery.

When the man fought back, he was stabbed in his leg, arm, face and hand, suffering deep cuts which needed extensive hospital treatment. The gang also grabbed his wife by her hair and threatened her before fleeing.

York Press:

The North Yorkshire Police investigation saw mobile phones and CCTV analysed, along with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), used to track down the four men, and a fifth member - all from Leeds - in the months following the robbery.

Hutchinson and Walker were both sentenced to 13 years and seven months imprisonment.

Henriques and Bruce were both sentenced to 16 years imprisonment, after pleading guilty at the start of the trial on Tuesday, September 20.

Henriques, Bruce and a fifth man were found guilty on Thursday (September 29), following the trial, and the fifth member will be sentenced at a later date.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Ellis said: "This was a shocking attack in which the victim showed great courage in trying to defend his wife and his home. Both victims suffered a terrifying ordeal and I hope the jailing of those responsible gives them a small amount of comfort.

"The investigation was very complex and painstaking but technology enabled us to piece together the movements of all five suspects, putting them either at the scene of the attack or involved in the planning of it. I am pleased with the sentences handed out, which means that four very dangerous individuals have been taken off the streets for a long time. We now await the future sentencing of the remaining defendant with interest."

Bruce was given an additional year in prison after punching a co-defendant in court and Walker received an extra four months for spitting at another gang member during the proceedings.