Violent robbers with machete forced victim to withdraw cash all over Bedford

A man and a woman involved in a violent robbery where they threatened the victim with a machete and forced him to go to cashpoints around Bedford have been jailed for over 22 years.

Leanne Horsnell and Chris Hunt repeatedly punched and slapped the victim during their attack in April, leaving him with serious injuries.

The victim met Horsnell and Hunt – both of Shakespeare Road – on the day of the attack in the town centre and offered to cook them dinner at his flat.

Later that day the pair turned up at the victim’s address with Horsnell holding a machete. They attacked the victim and demanded he go with them to withdraw money.

He was taken to a number of cashpoints and told to withdraw money with his bank card. He also gave Horsnell and Hunt around £500 in cash he had in his flat.

The pair left with the cash but returned to the victim’s home at around 6.30am the next day, where Horsnell again assaulted the victim.

A neighbour heard the commotion and went to knock on the door. Horsnell answered the door, but the victim was able to discretely gesture for his neighbour to call the police.

While Horsnell, 36, and Hunt, 39, left the scene, they were both arrested at their home address that morning.

Clothing seized from both of them was found to have the victim’s blood on.

Both Horsnell and Hunt were last month found guilty of robbery. Horsnell was also found guilty of possession of a bladed article, as well as pleading guilty to the further assault the following day.

She was sentenced to spend 12 years in prison, while Hunt was handed a jail term of 10 years and six months.

Bedfordshire Police investigation officer Alexandra Puffett, said: “These vile individuals have taken someone’s kind offer and subsequently targeted them with severe violence in order to try and score some quick cash.

“The victim in this case suffered some really nasty injuries and has been left understandably shaken by what happened. I want to thank them for their cooperation with our investigation and hope the long sentences awarded to Horsnell and Hunt provide him with a sense of justice.

“I also want to say a particular thank you to the victim’s neighbour, who showed a huge amount of bravery to go and check on our victim and instigated the phone call to police.

“We can all look out for our neighbours and make sure they are safe. We would always encourage people to be an upstander and not a bystander, and call the police so we can take action if you have any concerns.”