text: The wife of a Navy veteran who was battered to death with a claw hammer by his crazed pensioner neighbour has spoken of how stumbling upon the bloody scene will 'stay with me for ever'. Enid Hatch, 70, told of the horror as she ran out to the communal hallway of their sheltered housing complex near Cardiff to help what she thought was an injured man, only to discover blood splattered walls where her husband had been brutally beaten yards away. The man was in fact Alan Rogers, 73, who had smashed the skull of 76-year-old Fred Hatch. Yesterday Rogers was sentenced to a hospital order under the Mental Health Act and told he may never be released. Fred Hatch, 76, had bought his wife Enid 50 yellow roses - her favourite flowers - to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary, telling her 'each one is for a year of happiness'. He was brutally killed two months later . Grandfather Fred Hatch's injuries were so severe that the surgeon told his wife he had never seen anything so horrific in 20 years of neurosurgery. It is not the first time Mrs Hatch, 70, has lost a loved one in violent circumstances. Her sister Betty Elston was murdered on a beach in Sully in 1971 by a stranger who had absconded from a mental health institution. On their golden wedding, Mr Hatch had bought his wife 50 yellow roses - her favourite flowers - telling her 'each one is for a year of happiness'. The pair married six months after meeting in the Royal Navy and were together for five decades. But two months after their anniversary, Mrs Hatch said her life was 'destroyed' when her husband was killed in the horrific attack. Mrs Hatch said the memory of the bloody scene that greeted her as she went to look for her beloved husband at the sheltered accommodation where they lived in Dinas Powys has remained stuck in her head and said 'it will stay with me forever'. She said she had hoped they would go on as 'golden oldies' together. She spoke of the kind, caring and loving man she had known for over half a century, describing him as 'the love of my life'. Alan Rogers, 73, was sentenced  under the Mental Health Act and told he may never be released . Mrs Hatch said: 'Fred didn't deserve to die this way - we had many happy years ahead of us. 'He was the love of my life and my life is destroyed - this man has taken everything.' Heartbroken Mrs Hatch and her four children, who had rushed to their dying father's bedside for one last goodbye, were at Cardiff Crown Court  to hear Rogers plead guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibilty. Michael Jones, prosecuting, said Rogers had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time and was 'profoundly mentally ill'. He told the court: 'Mr and Mrs Hatch had lived at the flats since 2012 but on October 8 last year South Wales Police received a telephone call from the defendant telling them 'I've just killed one of my neighbours and hit his head with a hammer'. 'He was in the communal hallway, where Mrs Hatch, concerned she hadn't seen her husband for some time, came out to see Alan Rogers lying on the floor, the phone in his hand. 'It was a man she had seen before and who she described as "articulate but unkempt" and her initial thought was that he was injured. 'She ran down asking could she help and the defendant told her "No but you may be able to help him" and that was when she saw her husband with his catastrophic injuries and blood all over the floor and walls.' Rogers told police he had hit him at least six times and had intended to kill him. Mr Jones said Rogers told a police officer he didn't need to be handcuffed because he was no threat to the police. '"I'm only a threat to evil people" he said and on his way to the police station added "I've been waiting a long time to kill that man".' In interview, Rogers said he had been pottering around in his flat that morning before seeing Mr Hatch going past. The sheltered housing complex in Dinas Powys near Cardiff where Fred Hatch was killed by his crazed neighbour Alan Rogers . Enid Hatch's sister Betty Elston (pictured holding a child) was murdered in 1971 by a stranger who had absconded from a mental health institution . He added: 'They are using modern technology, the equivalent of witchcraft and he was in collusion with the Main Man.' Sentencing Rogers to a hospital order under the Mental Health Act, Mr Justice Warby said he may never be released. 'On the evidence I have read and heard, it seems there is little likelihood that the doctors would ever consider you safe enough to release into the community.' The judge told Rogers: 'On that day he had got up, made his wife a cup of tea and set off to spread some lawn seed, saying it was a good day to do it. 'He didn't know you were lying in wait to kill him. 'As he went to leave the building you launched a ferocious and unprovoked attack. 'He greeted you with the words 'good morning' and you struck him on the head. 'As he stumbled you hit him again, he collapsed and you hit at least four times until you were sure he was brain dead. 'Enid Hatch had to witness with her own eyes the bloody scene you had created and two neighbours had to witness the aftermath. 'The injuries were so severe that the surgeon told his wife he had never seen such horrific injuries in 20 years of neurosurgery. 'He was a devoted loving and much-loved husband, father and grandfather and this is the family on which you have visited this truly shocking and terrible crime. 'You have brought emotional devastation. Worried Enid Hatch went to look for her husband Fred after he failed to return from the communal garden of their sheltered housing complex near Cardiff. She discovered Rogers standing over her bloodied husband . 'For Enid it was a particularly cruel experience, as she had already suffered the loss of a loved one through murder by a stranger - her sister Betty Elston was murdered on a beach in Sully in 1971 by a stranger who had absconded from a mental health institution.' He told Rogers: 'Expert psychiatric evidence is that your behaviour is explained by paranoid schizophrenia - that is the explanation for the delusions and hallucinations you had which led you to conclude you had a moral duty to kill Mr Hatch.' Speaking after the court hearing, Mr Hatch's family described him as 'a kind, caring, placid gentle man' who will be missed by everyone who knew him. They said: 'Our lives have been changed forever and we are devastated. 'There is no justice that can diminish our loss but we are grateful that Alan Rogers will never have the opportunity to damage another family and cause the pain and hurt that has been inflicted on us.'
target: Enid Hatch found blood splattered walls after going to look for her husband .
  He had been beaten with a claw hammer by a crazed pensioner neighbour .
  Alan Rogers sentenced under Mental Health Act and may never be released .
  Mrs Hatch's sister Betty was murdered in 1971 by mental health absconder .