Mother beaten up in her own home after going to check on boy, 5, who was left outside her house as bait in the middle of the night

Christopher Oakes, 37, has been jailed for seven and half years after he stormed into the house of Sarah Clarke, 35, and attacked her

A mother was beaten up in her own home by a robber who used a five-year-old child to lure her to the door and trick his way into the house.
Christopher Oakes, 37, has been jailed for seven and half years after he stormed into the house of Sarah Clarke, 35, and attacked her.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that the mother-of- three was woken at around 3.30am on February 11 last year by a knock at her door while her soldier husband was away on tour in Afghanistan.
She said she spotted a young boy standing alone outside and went to investigate.
Seconds later, two intruders emerged from around a corner and wrestled her back inside, it was said.
Oakes and his accomplice - who has not been caught - then subjected Mrs Clarke to a brutal attack by pinning her against a wall and punching her in the face and head. 
Despite trying to fight off her attackers the pair then fled from the property in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with bank cards and cash from her purse. 
Oakes, from Bucknall, Staffordshire, was arrested near the scene and charged with robbery after Mrs Clarke picked him out of a police line-up.
On Tuesday he was jailed for seven-and-a-half years at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court after a jury found him guilty at a trial last month.

He maintains his innocence and plans to appeal his conviction.
Judge Paul Glenn said the use of a child demonstrated ‘pre-planning’ by Oakes and his accomplice.
He said: 'This involves a victim in her own home. She was put in significant fear.

'Two men were involved, there was some planning and her children were upstairs in bed. As a mother she instinctively went to the door.
'As soon as she opened the door she was physically attacked. This must have been a terrifying experience for her.
'She sustained physical injuries. What happened to her will live with her for a long time, probably permanently.'
Jason Holt, defending, said Oakes, who has no previous convictions, maintains his innocence and plans to appeal his conviction.
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