Two masked men subjected an elderly homeowner to a vicious and terrifying raid, leaving him with broken ribs and suffering an angina attack.

Wearing balaclavas, Thomas Sharland, 32, Joseph Devoy, 29, and a third unidentified man stormed the Whitstable property on the evening of February 12 last year.

They had plotted to rugby tackle their victim, who was 76 and described as "a man of ill health", but when he opened his door shortly after 7.45pm, he was repeatedly punched in the face and with such force that he fell to the floor.

Demands for money were accompanied by threats and further violence, including a kick from burly 6ft 8ins Sharland, before the pensioner was struck with a mallet and cut with a letter knife to his ear.

Canterbury Crown Court heard even the man's dog was forcefully slapped and punched while trying to protect his master.

As the attack was taking place, Sharland and Devoy were upstairs hunting for valuables. But it was said they "encouraged" the violence being meted out by their accomplice with their repeated shouts of "we can't find it!"

The brave pensioner initially resisted the demands as to where the money could be found but was eventually forced to give in as the assault increased in its severity.

By the time he was seriously injured with concussion, three broken ribs, chest pains and struggling for breath, the three men fled, taking £18,000 in cash, as well as cufflinks, a stopwatch of great sentimental value, and some tobacco.

But having escaped, an unrepentant Sharland and Devoy exchanged a series of texts in which they ruthlessly plotted a return visit to the property in The Warren, and boasted about "making a proper living" from their criminality.

Their phones, seized on arrest two months later, also revealed photos of the stolen money, panicked references to a KentOnline article about the raid and therefore a need to establish an alibi, a screenshot of a Kent Police media appeal, and internet searches relating to the length of prison sentences they faced.

Now, having admitted their roles in the robbery, the pair, who are both from Herne Bay, are starting jail terms with a combined total of more than 16 years.

At their sentencing hearing on Friday, prosecutor Caroline Knight said the three robbers had driven to the area in Devoy's BMW and, after parking a short distance away in The Heights, walked to their target address and knocked on the door.

When the victim answered, he was immediately greeted with multiple punches to his face and, as he fell backwards onto the floor, they burst into the hallway.

He was then subjected to a number of kicks and punches by the third man and asked "Where's the money?", the court was told.

When the pensioner did not answer, he was also kicked by Sharland as he lay on the floor. He and Devoy then raced upstairs hunting for cash as their accomplice dished out more violence.

"The third man took a mallet that the victim had left on his stairs and struck him. He then took a knife used for opening letters from a table, threatened to cut him, and indeed, did cut his ear," said Ms Knight.

"Shouts continued that they couldn't find the money as the attack, with kicks and punches, continued downstairs to force him to divulge where it was."

In his subsequent statement to police, the homeowner described how his dog had run into the hallway and got between him and the accomplice, only to be slapped "very hard" and punched twice in the face.

It was at this point the mallet was picked up and he was struck. The pensioner also described how the knife was waved in his face as the man demanded "I'm going to cut you. Where's the money?" before carrying out his threat on his ear.

The victim then started to have an angina attack and, when his attacker asked what was going on, said he needed his medication from a coat pocket.

This prompted the masked man to throw two coats at him before rifling the pockets himself, only to find a knife inside and threaten he would "use it".

Then, with the mallet, he went behind the victim, put it on his head and demanded: "Where's the money? You know what's going to happen."

It was at this point the pensioner relented, telling police: "I honestly believed he was going to kill me so I told them."

As they fled, the raiders ripped his phone out from his wall.

Following their arrests, police found the incriminating phone conversations and images from the day of the robbery and in the weeks after.

These included discussions about waiting for it to be dark, tackling the victim to the floor, and the need to search "everywhere".

I'm so angry those people have caused me so much distress. Every day is a struggle and I stay home most of the time. I feel so vulnerable...

In reference to the KentOnline article, they talked about setting up an alibi and disposing of the BMW, as well as expressing that they "had each others' backs", said Ms Knight.

In one message, Devoy had even asked whether they were "stupid" to carry out the raid, to which Sharland replied "Why not?".

Devoy also suggested a return visit in six months time, finishing that message with a smiling emoji, as well as robbing another man.

Then, with a laughing face emoji, he boasted: "We can make a proper living from this".

A total of £15,000 cash was discovered by police in the BMW under the driver's seat.

In two statements made last year and describing the robbery's impact, the pensioner said he had had to give up work and considered moving from his home of 14 years because every time he opened his front door, he saw the three intruders.

"The whole experience has been extremely traumatic for me," he told police. "I believe I will never be able to return to work because of what they have done to me.

"I'm so angry those people have caused me so much distress. Every day is a struggle and I stay home most of the time. I feel so vulnerable.

"I'm extremely distressed at how this has impacted my life. There is no relief for me."

The court heard that as well as his physical injuries, he experienced nightmares, flashbacks, and trembling, was diagnosed with PTSD, and a pre-existing hernia problem was aggravated, leaving him facing surgery.

Both Sharland, of Queen Street, and Devoy, homeless at the time but formerly of Station Chine, wrote letters of apology to the victim and the court, expressing their remorse.

Sharland, whose six previous convictions include offences of aggravated burglary, cultivating cannabis and stalking, was said by his lawyer Phil Rowley to have had a "challenging start in life" and was brought up in foster care from the age of six.

Having left school at 16, he went to college, enjoyed "sporadic" employment and was on benefits at the time of his offending.

But Mr Rowley said the dad of three was "capable of leading a productive life", had shown "remorse, insight and good sense" since his arrest, and made positive progress while on remand.

Devoy, whose criminal record includes offences of wounding and producing cannabis, was said by his lawyer, Karl Volz, to be "terribly ashamed and disgusted" by his actions which resulted from his life "spiralling out of control" from his cocaine habit, a £1,000 drug debt, and a number of bereavements.

He too had had a "pretty traumatic" upbringing, added Mr Volz, and suffered with mental health issues.

It was also argued that he had "signed up to a low level of violence" being used - which was rejected by the judge - and that his messages involved "a degree of revelling and attempts at bravado" to impress his co-defendant.

But the court was told time on remand had been "extraordinarily salutary", leading Devoy to complete 40 courses, obtain qualifications, assist fellow inmates with English and math, and train to be a listener in the prison environment.

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Taylor KC said the pair had embarked on a "sophisticated and organised" joint enterprise which involved planning, threats, significant force and violence to steal high value goods.

Although he accepted the weapons had not been taken to the property or they had used any themselves, he said their shouts from upstairs "encouraged" their accomplice in his attack which had left their victim suffering from serious physical and psychological harm.

He also agreed that aside from the one kick from Sharland, they had not delivered any of the blows themselves.

But he told the pair they "didn't care" about trying to keep the violence to a minimum that night and were "quite happy" at what was being deployed.

Jailing Sharland for seven years and eight months, and Devoy for eight years and 10 months, the judge added: "Being part of the search party rather than the distributor of violence doesn't mean you played a lesser role. It was all part of the plan.

"The fact you kicked him, Mr Sharland, while he was on the floor, does make it more serious and it's plain, Mr Devoy, you were observing and encouraging.

Being part of the search party rather than the distributor of violence doesn't mean you played a lesser role. It was all part of the plan...

"This was targeting a vulnerable victim. Even if you didn't know he was 76 as you approached the front door, from the moment he fell to the floor you would have known he was vulnerable but you persisted."

Sharland received a slightly shorter jail term than Devoy due to the fact he pleaded guilty at an earlier stage in proceedings and was therefore entitled to more credit.

However, both will have to serve two-thirds before they are released, less any time served on remand, and will be subject to a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing later this year.

Judge Taylor said any money confiscated from them will be redirected as compensation to the victim.