Three men and a teenager who targeted a family home in the early hours believing there would be cash there have been locked up.

James Benjamin, who - according to his defence lawyer - was employed by Medway Council as a carer, drove Albyon Kurti, Ellis Oscar and Fabion Kuci to the flat in Chatham on July 13 last year but he did not go in.

Wearing balaclavas, the other three then put Shane Treeby and his family through a terrifying ordeal.

The four were originally accused of aggravated burglary with the prosecution alleging they were armed with weapons including a sawn-off shotgun and a handgun.

A jury at Maidstone Crown Court was told Mr Treeby – who had armed himself with a samurai sword – was left unconscious from being repeatedly beaten with the pistol stock.

Prosecutor Allister Walker said the victim could be heard crying out in pain as his girlfriend and daughters, aged three and five, cowered in a bedroom at the flat in Street End Road.

The gang members only managed to steal a watch but eventually drove off in Mr Treeby’s Jaguar. They were arrested within minutes by armed officers in Maritime Close.

Kurti, 18, was driving the Jaguar, while Oscar, 25, Kuci, 22, and 21-year-old Benjamin were in a Ford Focus.

The prosecution accepted guilty pleas to the lesser offence of burglary after witnesses failed to attend court. They also admitted theft.

Oscar, of no fixed address, and Kuci, of Swiss Cottage, north London, were each jailed for four-and-a-half years. Kurti, of no fixed address, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years youth custody and Benjamin, from Chatham, was jailed for 12 months.

Mr Walker had told how Mr Treeby grabbed the sword after the gang forced their way in just after 6am. He was knocked unconscious.

"The hallmark of these offences is the complete violation of the Treeby household. It must have been very frightening and traumatic..." - Judge Martin Joy

His girlfriend and their two children managed to hide in a bedroom with the door wedged shut with a towel.

Mr Walker said there was a significant degree of planning and the flat was targeted.

All four had previous convictions. Louise Oakley, for Benjamin, said her client chose to move from London to Kent at the age of 18 to give himself the best chance in life.

She said Benjamin obtained employment with Medway Council in June 2012 as a trusted carer for two vulnerable people.

She said: “There was reference to the Treebys living nearby and having money at the address.

“He accepts he knew money was to be taken. What he didn’t sign up for was a violent confrontation involving the production of swords.”

Judge Martin Joy said: “Anyone seeing this would be horrified at the violence. This was not someone slipping in a window and committing a burglary.

“It may well be prosecution witnesses were unwilling to give evidence at all. Pleas have been entered in full knowledge of that fact. They have taken the wisest course available to them.”

The judge said the theft involved the threat of force and fell “not far short of robbery”.

He continued: “Burglary is a particularly unpleasant offence. It causes a huge amount of insecurity in the victims and also insecurity in those who read about it.

“The hallmark of these offences is the complete violation of the Treeby household. It must have been very frightening and traumatic.”

DC Kathryn Lumsden-Earle said after the hearing: “These four men forced their victims to endure a terrifying ordeal in their own home, where they should have felt safe.

“This was a dreadful violation of their privacy and security and it will take them some time to come to terms with their experience.

“The swift work of our officers meant Oscar, Kuci, Kurti and Benjamin were caught up within minutes of committing their crime and remanded in custody.”

After the sentencing, investigating officer Detective Constable Kathryn Lumsden-Earle, said: "These four men forced their victims to endure a terrifying ordeal in their own home, where they should have felt safe.

"This was a dreadful violation of their privacy and security and it will take them some time to come to terms with their experience.

"The swift work of our officers meant Oscar, Kuci, Kurti and Benjamin were caught up with within minutes of committing their crime and remanded in custody."

A Medway Council spokesman said Benjamin had never been employed by the council.