Robber jailed for 13 years for rolling pin attack

Nigel Collins tried posing as a police officer to trick his way inside house but then clambered through an open window when the suspicious resident refused to allow him in.

The 49-year-old resident was left with a head wound needing stitches after after being struck with a rolling pin picked up from a kitchen surface.

Collins and two accomplices fled with £300 cash and a mobile phone from the house in Waterloo Road, Smethwick.

They were caught after a bag they dropped in the back garden was found to contain a glove with Collins' DNA on it.

The 25-year-old was traced to an address in Whitehall Road, Handsworth, where he was arrested on the morning of March 6.

He was jailed at Wolverhampton Crown Court after admitting robbery and attempted GBH.

Dc Darren Brown said: "The homeowner suffered a nasty head wound that required several stitches whilst his 18-year-old daughter, though she wasn't hurt, was present during the ordeal which lasted around 10 minutes..

"He was dragged upstairs by the men who demanded cash and valuables – but it appears they made a mistake and targeted the wrong property, even though we understand Collins did a recce of the location earlier in the afternoon.

"This is a very significant custodial sentence and just goes to show the risks people take if they use violence to break into people's homes."

Collins, from Tewpark Road in Handsworth, and two other men arrived at the victim's home before 7.30pm on February 20 and tried convincing the homeowner they were conducting local enquiries.

Dc Brown, added: "The victim did exactly the right thing: he asked questions through the locked door and, as he doubted they were genuine officers, he refused to let them in. We'd always urge residents to make checks against unsolicited callers…don't be afraid to leave them waiting whilst you phone the organisation they claim to be representing."

A second man is currently on police bail on suspicion of being involved.