TWO Tavistock brothers are facing lengthy jail sentences after burgling a man’s home – before one of them savagely attacked him with a knife.

Mark Stephens, 51, was found guilty of GBH with intent for the attack on heroin user Gary Perkins in the small hours of the morning one day last spring.

A jury at Plymouth Crown Court also found Stephens, from Tavistock, and his brother David Stephens, 53, of Chillaton, guilty of aggravated burglary.

The court heard how the brothers armed themselves with a knife before breaking into Gary Perkins’ flat in Buzzard Road, Tavistock on April 27 last year.

Mark Stephens used a stolen ladder to climb into the flat before bursting into Mr Perkins’ bedroom at about 4am, waking him up.

He dragged him from bed, slashing his stomach with a knife and repeatedly hitting him with a vacuum cleaner pipe, while shouting ‘I am going to kill you.’

Mr Perkins was left naked on the bedroom floor with several knife wounds to his stomach, a broken nose, a fractured cheek bone and bleeding to the brain. Two of his teeth were knocked out and a third was broken.

Stephens then let his brother David Stephens in through the front door of Mr Perkins’ flat. David Stephens searched the flat for money and stole £150 cash from Mr Perkins’ wallet. They fled within ten minutes, leaving their victim dazed and bleeding. He called a friend and then the police and an ambulance and was taken to hospital.

Summing up the case on Tuesday morning, Recorder Simon Levene said: ’On April 27, in the small hours of the morning, Mr Perkins said he was asleep in bed when he heard noises and woke up, seeing the shadow of a person in the bedroom doorway. He said he shouted out, was confused and terrified and threw a glass of water at the person.

‘Mr Perkins said “I tried to throw my duvet over myself and there was a very bright flash. I felt a slight pain in my arms and the next thing I knew I was lying naked on the floor and the man had his knee on my chest. It was Mark Stephens, saying ‘I am going to kill you.’ Mark was kicking at me, saying ‘I am going to kill you. He shouted it several times.”

The trial heard how Mr Perkins’ blood was found on clothes belonging to both of the brothers. CCTV footage, meanwhile, saw a man identified as David Stephens taking a ladder from a nearby garden to climb up to a window to break into Mr Perkins’ flat.

Several residents of Buzzard Road gave evidence at the trial, describing seeing David Stephens, who has a distinctive tattoo on his forehead and is well known in Tavistock, in Buzzard Road on the day before the attack.

It emerged during the trial that Mr Perkins was known to the brothers because he had supplied drugs to Mark Stephens.

Mr Levene told the jury to put aside any scruples they might have about Mr Perkins’ alleged dealing to one side when considering their verdict.

‘Whether Mr Perkins is a drug dealer or whether he himself uses drugs might be relevant to whether or not you believe him but it has nothing whosoever to do with whether the defendants are guilty or not,’ he said. ‘People who deal in drugs have the same rights to be protected as anyone else.’

Both brothers have a string of previous convictions.

PC Wayne Thielmann of Tavistock CID, who gave evidence at the trial, welcomed the verdict.

‘We are obviously pleased with the outcome in court today, which has resulted in the conviction of two very dangerous people,’ he said. ‘It has only been possible because of the bravery of the victim and courage of the witnesses in coming forward and giving their evidence.

‘It isn’t often that something this serious happens in Tavistock but when it does we are very grateful for the assistance we get from members of the public to help us identify the offenders. On this occasion it meant that within 24 hours after the offence occurred we had two people in custody and they have been off the streets of West Devon since then.

‘They are going to be spending a long time in prison as a result of this and other matters that will be coming out in public in the next few weeks.’

The case was adjourned for sentencing, which is likely to take place in the next few weeks.