Two men who carried out a raid at the home of Faversham millionaire lottery winners have been sent to prison.

Masked pair Gary Westcott and Matthew Poole stormed the house and snatched £55,000 in cash.

The judge told them the victims were "gentle and nice people" who kept money in their home in order to help friends and family.

He said it was a "particularly nasty" raid because Westcott had betrayed his family because he was a relative.

Judge Martin Huseyin jailed Westcott for four years and six months, and Poole for 32 months.

A jury at Maidstone Crown Court cleared them both of the more serious charge of aggravated burglary but guilty of the break-in.

The thieves had posed as pizza delivery drivers before barging their way inside the house in Larksfield Road.

Once inside, Westcott and pal Poole took the money before fleeing.

Prosecutor Stephen Earnshaw revealed that one of the burglars, Westcott was a cousin of victim Merissa Smedley.

Poole, 34, of Alexandra Road, Sheerness, and Westcott, 40 of Rochdale, had denied aggravated burglary and Poole was also acquitted of possessing a Stanley knife during the attack.

Ms Smedley told the court, in a victim impact statement, how the incident had put pressure on her relationship with Wayne Cheeseman.

She said she fears her lover blames her because one of the burglars is a relative.

Ms Smedley revealed she no longer lives in their home or town and may never again return.

She told the judge how she cries herself to sleep, suffers flashbacks, and wakes screaming.

"I no longer trust anyone and I shut myself away... and stay in one room," she added.

It was Miss Smedley who had bought the winning scratchcard from a local shop.

The couple had only been at home for about 15 minutes before the raiders struck.

Mr Cheeseman told the court it was not unusual to have takeaway delivery drivers knocking at his home looking for his neighbour's house.

"I saw two people, masked up. As soon as I opened that door I realised what was going to happen," he said.

"I tried to slam the door but it was too late and they barged in. They pushed their way in and pushed me against my tumble dryer.

"The tall one asked 'Where's the money?' really aggressively.

"He must have known I had that because no one knew. I said 'Take it, just take it'.

"I was scared. I went upstairs and the taller man was behind me, but he pushed me out of the way and took the money. He knew where it was.

"All I could hear was screaming. I just couldn't help her. She was my girlfriend and I was stuck. I just couldn't do nothing (sic)."

Mr Cheeseman said the raiders took a Samsung Galaxy Note 10, and Miss Smedley's iPhone XR, but left behind his gold jewellery and other cash.

"All they wanted was the bag. I had all my gold on the bed and money laying on the bed but they didn't want that," he told the court.

"It was quick - grab and gone. He knew where it was.

"After taking the phones the little guy said 'If you call the police we will come back and kill you.'

"They walked out the front door and I slammed it."

Mr Earnshaw said: "This is a somewhat unusual case because Westcott was known to Ms Smedley.

"She is his cousin and she had known him for some time."

The jury were shown footage taken from a door camera which showed men arriving at 8pm on September 15 last year.

"After taking the phones the little guy said 'If you call the police we will come back and kill you'..."

One of the men shouted: "Pizza... pizza" before the door was opened by Mr Cheeseman, who had won £1m on a National Lottery scratchcard.

Mr Earnshaw said the couple hadn't told many people about the win just "relatively close friends and family members"

The court heard how the couple used some of the money to buy a sophisticated doorbell which recorded images when pressed.

During the 45 second footage, a female voice can be heard screaming: "Don't hurt him!" and a man's voice saying: "Take it."

The prosecution told how Mr Cheeseman was taken upstairs where a bag with £55,000 in cash was taken away by the men.

As they fled the scene, Westcott allegedly told the couple: "If you call the Old Bill... you are dead."

The prosecutor added 12 days after the incident and Poole was stopped by police on September 30.

Tom Stern, defending for Poole, said his client had been recruited by Westcott.

Judge Huseyin said: "I accept that Westcott was the brains behind this and Poole wouldn't have got involved but for his friend."

The Crown Prosecution Service will now start an investigation to the raiders finances in an attempt to recover the cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

As the two were being led away, one man in the public gallery shouted to Westcott: "Love you dad. Don't worry I'll sort it", as others shouted "Snitch" towards Poole.

The court had earlier heard how Poole revealed the background to crime after being arrested."

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