Three men who killed Burton Latimer pensioner Winnie Love and the man who set up the crime were all jailed at Northampton Crown Court today. Sentencing the killers Judge Sir Derek Hodgson said the crime was a cruel and callous act on a frail old lady who did them no harm at all.

Norman Barned and Glyn Lewis were both jailed for a total of five years. The youngest of the trio, Richard Gayle, was jailed for four years. All three were also given three years’ imprisonment for burgling Mrs. Love’s Station Road home, and robbing her in February – the sentences to run concurrent to the other terms.

The men had been found not guilty of murdering Mrs. Love, but admitted manslaughter when they raided her home, stealing £1,685 in cash.

“You must have realised the likelihood of danger when you surprised this frail old lady of 75 years, tied her up, gagged her and then left her,” said the Judge. “I am prepared to accept that you didn’t intend any serious injury but it was an extremely cruel and callous thing to do,” he added.

Barned (19), Gayle (17), both of Wren’s Park Road, Warwick Grove and Glen Lewis (21), of Albion Road, Hackney, admitted the robbery and burglary charges.

The judge today told the trio: “You came from London to Burton Latimer intending to commit an extremely mean crime by stealing the life savings of this old lady.”

Then he dealt with Earl Savage (23), who admitted procuring the trio to commit the robbery between January 1 and February 19. Savage who was buying a house under mortgage in Station Road, just a few doors from where Mrs. Love lived, was jailed for two years. Savage, who now has a Hackney address in London, fed the other three men with information about Mrs. Love’s house. He was said to have told police: “OK, I set the job up, I told them about the old lady but I didn’t know when it would be done.”

In sentencing him the judge said: “At a time when you knew this elderly lady would be in the house you gave information to these three young thugs and you were likely to get some of the proceeds.”

Mr. Brian Escott-Cox QC, prosecuting, told the court how Savage was 60 miles away in London when he gave information about Mrs Love to the other defendants over the telephone. After the robbery had been committed Savage received £185 for his services.