text: Clinton Jackson, 25, was jailed for 18 years for targeting the pensioners in their home . A gang of  thugs who battered an 81-year-old woman with a metal bar as they ransacked her home were jailed for a total of 44 years. Jermaine Kellman, 29, Marvin Sempler, 30, Clinton Jackson, 25, and Darren Lewis, 34, targeted the couple in their 80s after they were tipped off that money was kept in their home in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. Verna Fisher, then 81, awoke in total darkness in the early hours of 31 July last year confronted by four men wearing white balaclavas and gloves. She tried to cry out for help, but Lewis had his hand clasped over her mouth while demanding money, the Old Bailey heard. Mrs Fisher was thrown off the bed while the burglars took her purse containing £250 and a mobile phone from under her pillow. But the men continued to demand more money before Lewis struck the pensioner twice with a metal bar, leaving her covered in blood, prosecutor Philip Evans said. Her bed-ridden husband Mortimer, who was 85, was sleeping in another room and woke with a man standing over him, but was powerless to help his wife. The couple were so traumatised by the terrifying ordeal that they had to leave their home. Mrs Fisher now lives with her daughter, while Mr Fisher sadly passed away in October 2014. There were gasps from the public gallery as Jackson was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment and brothers Kellman and Sempler were each handed 13-year jail terms. Lewis will be sentenced later this month. Judge Steven Gullick said offences of violence committed at night in the homes of the elderly and vulnerable must be met with significant custodial sentences. ‘As a direct result of this burglary Mr and Mrs Fisher had to leave their home. They no longer felt safe there. ‘They have never and will never return. Sadly Mr Fisher died in October 2014, Mrs Fisher now lives with her daughter,’ the judge said. The court heard a cousin of Sempler and Kellman, who had worked for the Fishers as a cleaner, told the brothers that the couple kept cash in their home. Brothers Jermaine Kellman, right,  and Marvin Sempler, left, were each handed 13-year jail terms . Judge Gullick said: ‘Armed with a metal bar and each wearing masks you forced entry into the Fishers’ home in the early hours of the morning. ‘Mrs Fisher, aged 81, was asleep in her bedroom. Mr Fisher, who was 85 and had been bed-ridden for a number of years, was asleep in what was nominally the living room of that house. ‘He was quite unable to do anything by way of protecting his wife.’ The four men went into Mrs Fisher’s bedroom, where she usually slept with the light on, and turned the light off. ‘You went their because you understood that was where the cash was,’ the judge told them. ‘The four of you surrounded her bed and she woke up to find four men, wearing masks standing over her, one with his hand over her mouth. ‘The room was in complete darkness, she was terrified.’ Lewis was the man brandishing an eight or nine inch metal bar as he demanded money off the petrified pensioner, the prosecutor said. Judge Steven Gullick at the Old Bailey, pictured, said offences of violence committed at night in the homes of the elderly and vulnerable must be met with significant custodial sentences . Mrs Fisher was then thrown off her bed and the gang found a purse, containing £250 and her bank cards, and a mobile phone under her pillow. ‘Lewis continued to demand money and to reinforce his demands struck her twice on the nose with the metal bar,’ Judge Gullick said. He also demanded she give him the PIN number to her bank cards, the court heard. ‘Despite her ordeal Mrs Fisher had the presence of mind to give Lewis numbers to cards she knew were not in her purse,’ the judge added. Kellman, of  Wandsworth, southeast London; Sempler, of  Lewisham, and Lewis, of Croydon pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated burglary. Jackson, of  Norwood, south London, was convicted of the same offence following a trial at St Albans Crown Court.
target: Gang targeted home of Vera Fisher, 81, and her bed-ridden husband, 85 .
  They were tipped off the OAPs kept money in their Hertfordshire home .
  Clinton Jackson, 25, was jailed for 18 years at the Old Bailey .
  Jermaine Kellman, 29, and Marvin Sempler, 30, were each given 13 years .