ELDERLY people thought him "trustworthy" - instead he deliberately targeted and burgled them, York Crown Court heard.

A 70-year-old victim now fears anyone approaching her door and locks herself into her home after Carl Darren Riddough paid her a visit, said Chris Smith, prosecuting.

The oldest victim was 84, the youngest a 51-year-old stroke patient. Most live in Acomb, one in a residential complex in the city centre.

The 20-year-old habitual house breaker used a 15-year-old boy to distract the pensioners as he grabbed their handbags. He also conned victims into thinking he was genuine and once in their homes, ran off with their money.

"Some of the victims describe you as being highly plausible, utterly trustworthy and they feel terribly let down in consequence," the Recorder of York, Judge Paul Hoffman, told Riddough.

"I am entirely satisfied that you targeted vulnerable people - all these offences were committed against people who were infirm, so you were up to your old tricks again."

He jailed Riddough for five-and-a-half years. Riddough had previously been locked-up for burgling pensioners.

Riddough, of Dane Avenue, Acomb, admitted six burglaries and one theft, and four offences of actual bodily harm and two assaults against his former partner, Denise Yeomans, committed over 21 months.

"You were a controlling bullying individual to your partner," said the judge.

Mr Smith said that Riddough hit Ms Yeomans so often, violence was "the norm" in the household.

In drink and cocaine-fuelled violence between New Year's Eve 2004 and September 2006, he bit her, twisted a necklace round her neck so tightly she could barely breathe, left her in the dark with a disconnected phone after one attack, tried to kick her in the face and attacked her while their young son watched.

For Riddough, Helen Hendry said: "He took up responsibilities that were far above his level of maturity and experience. He reacted in a way he should not have done. He was perhaps no more than a child himself."

The court heard he had come to York aged 15 with Ms Yeomans, whom he had met in his native Doncaster. They set up home together and had two children.

He had not been a corrupting influence on his boy accomplice, who was committing offences without him.

A spokesman for York Help the Aged said: "This sort of distraction burglary can cause deep distress for older people, so it is always important for older people to be aware when strangers call."

A spokesman for York Samaritans said: "It is terrible to think these people will now feel scared to be in their own homes."