THE family of Landford pensioner Reginald Baker have spoken out about their relief after two men were sentenced to life imprisonment for his murder.

Mr Baker, 75, who had terminal cancer and was so frail he could barely walk, was found beaten to death in his Beech Grange home on September 5 last year. He had been tortured over a 40-minute period.

A jury at Winchester Crown Court took just under seven hours to find Joby Barney, 25, and 19-year-old John James guilty of his murder.

Speaking after the verdict, Mr Baker’s cousin George Andreae thanked the investigating team and the people of Landford for their help and support.

“This was a terrible crime committed upon a poor defenceless old man,” he said, “a man who just wanted to be left alone to enjoy his life in peace.

“It was a crime his closest family can never forget and it is something we are all still trying to come to terms with. We are glad that justice has now been done.”

Judge John Royce said the two men’s actions that day ‘nearly defies belief in any civilised society’ and they had ‘not one ounce of human decency’.

“It is bad enough for an old man so vulnerable to receive serious violence in his own home,” he said. “What puts this case into a different league is the fact that it was so prolonged and included this grotesque element of torture.

“While I accept that you did not intend to kill, you must both have realised that the cumulative effect of what you were subjecting him to meant that he might very well die.”

DS Stephen Fulcher of Wiltshire Police, the senior investigating officer in the case, described Barney and James’ actions as callous and despicable.

“This was an extremely violent, sustained and unprovoked attack on a frail man, who was coming to terms with the news he had terminal cancer,” he said.

Chief crown prosecutor Karen Harrold pledged to vigorously prosecute criminals who target disabled and elderly people such as Mr Baker.

“We want to ensure that we protect our communities and bring people like this to justice,” she said.

Barney, of Ringwood Road, Alderholt, must serve a minimum of 30 years in prison before he becomes eligible for parole, while James, of London Road, Salisbury, faces a minimum of 28 years.

John Wayne Wilkinson, 40, of Ford Lane, Ferndown, was found guilty of conspiracy to burgle Mr Baker’s home on September 5 but was cleared of a previous burglary on July 30.

Two other men, Daniel Coker, 23, of London Road, and 19-year-old Trevor Gray, of The Friary, Salisbury, have both admitted manslaughter and conspiracy to burgle.

All three men have been remanded in custody to be sentenced on June 19.