THESE violent thugs are today behind bars after they attacked a mentally ill man in his own home, causing such horrific injuries that he lost more than four litres of blood.

THESE violent thugs are today behind bars after they attacked a mentally ill man in his own home, causing such horrific injuries that he lost more than four litres of blood.

Sean Reid and Scott Nielsen subjected the vulnerable victim to a terrifying 45 minute ordeal of punches kicks and slaps after they broke into his home before fleeing with just a �200 giro cheque grabbed from his pocket.

The ordeal only ended when the victim, who is a paranoid schizophrenic, managed to escape from the flat despite Reid and Neilson attempting to barricade the door shut.

At Ipswich Crown Court, Reid, 23, of Vernon Street, Ipswich was jailed for 11 years and Nielsen, 37, of East Road, Cambridge, was jailed for 14 years.

Both men who have a lengthy history of offending had pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery.

The court heard that Reid had climbed into the flat in Canham Street, Ipswich through a window on the evening of September 29 last year and then let Nielsen in through the front door.

Reid was arrested after being identified by police officers from CCTV pictures recorded at Money Transfer in Northgate Street, Ipswich on September 30.

When detained his clothes were found to be stained with blood which was later confirmed to be that of his victim.

Nielsen was arrested the following day.

Initially both men blamed the other for the incident and Reid claimed he had been forced at knifepoint to attempt to cash the giro.

Later, however, he admitted that he had been involved in the robbery, the court heard.

Mitigating, Jude Durr said that Reid had expressed genuine remorse and regret for his actions and had written a letter to the victim assuring him that, on his release from prison, he would not attempt to extort any kind of revenge on him.

Appearing for Nielsen, Roger Thompson said that his client too, despite a large number of previous convictions, was also regretful. He too had pleaded guilty to robbery, although only shortly before a trial was due to take place.

Jailing both men, Judge John Holt told them that lengthy prison terms were inevitable, taking into account the violence used, the vulnerability of their victim and their large number of previous court appearances.

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VICTIM'S FIGHT FOR LIFE

The court heard that the badly injured man was taken by a friend to Ipswich police station and then by ambulance to Ipswich Hospital where doctors became concerned that he was bleeding internally.

Prosecuting, Joanne Eley said that three litres of blood was subsequently drained from his chest before the decision was taken to transfer him to a specialist high dependency unit at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

He underwent surgery and a further one and a half litres of blood from internal bleeding was drained away.

Medical experts said the bleeding was thought to have come from damage to the side of the man's liver and which was consistent with having been kicked while lying on the floor, said Miss Eley.