Two young mothers have been jailed after a court heard how they forced their way into a scared pensioner’s home when they were drunk and ended up assaulting him and stealing his beer.

The victim was kicked, punched and hit in the face with a dog feeding bowl.

At Mold Crown Court yesterday the two women from Holywell were each jailed for 18 months.

Judge Niclas Parry said the local community deserved to be given a rest from them.

The court was told that both Diana Caikawskaite and Hannah Payne were originally charged with burglary at the home of the victim, a man in his 70s.

But their guilty pleas to assault and theft were accepted by the prosecution.

They both also admitted being in breach of their criminal behaviour orders – Payne for the fifth time.

Caikawskaite, 25, of Penymaes Gardens in Holywell, and Payne, 24, of Moorfields in Holywell, were also made the subject of a five-year restraining order.

They are not to approach the victim in any way and not to go within 100 yards of his home.

Judge Parry told them that they had targeted an elderly man when he was at home alone.

He was vulnerable, he did not want them in his home and they knew it.

The victim gave them alcohol and cigarettes because he was scared of them.

But having got what they wanted, they intimidated him to try and get more.

When he refused he was assaulted by being kicked and punched.

A dog feeding bowl was thrown into his face.

They later returned to his home, banging on his door and shouting at him.

The elderly man had been left with bruising and discolouration to his face by the two women who were heavily under the influence of alcohol and in breach of their criminal behaviour orders.

The attack had occurred in the victim’s own home where he was entitled to feel safe, the judge said.

Prosecuting barrister Jonathan Austin said the victim, 72, answered a knock on his door on March 20 and the two women pushed past him and sat in the lounge.

They asked for some lager and tobacco and, feeling intimidated, he gave them some.

When he was asked for more, he refused and Payne went up to his face and said, “I am going to belt you” and the prosecutor said that was exactly what she did.

Both assaulted him, he was kicked and punched and the dog bowl was thrown in his face.

He told both to get out but they took his alcohol.

They returned an hour later shouting and swearing but they were not allowed in.

He was left with black eyes and marks to his face and he had aches and pains to his back.

Both were arrested the following day but denied being involved.

Mr Austin said both had a number of previous convictions.

Robert Edwards, for Caikawskaite, said while he knew it would be an uphill task he asked for a suspended sentence in his client’s circumstances.

She was a woman who, when she drank alcohol and associated with her co-defendant, committed offences and something needed to be done to try to break that cycle.

It was conceded that the court had shown considerable patience with her in the past and she had not engaged well with the probation service.

Something needed to happen to stop her offending and that had happened while she had been on remand.

One of her two daughters had complex health issues after she had meningitis shortly after birth.

She suffered significant brain damage, was potentially blind and would never walk or talk.

But while the defendant had been in custody she had been very poorly.

She had an infection following surgery and had been on life support for some time.

Her mother felt acutely that when her daughter needed her most she had been unable to provide her with support and “the penny seemed to have dropped” that she had to change her behaviour.

She was now motivated to deal with her issues, had undergone courses and counselling in custody, was in a new relationship, and intended to move away from Holywell on her release.

The defendant had already served the equivalent of a 12-month sentence.

Mr Edwards said: “She knows she needs to tackle her demon which is drink.”

Mark Connor, for Payne, said that she suffered post-natal depression after the birth of her third child, she self-medicated on alcohol and her life had spiralled out of control.

Her partner of nine years left her having fathered a child with someone else, and she suffered the death of her grandfather to whom she had been close.

She described alcohol as “her worst enemy” – she thought it would help her but it had simply made matters worse.

Payne was hoping to get a job to help others recover from alcohol and was clearly motivated to change.

There could be no excuse for the repressible offences committed in drink but she was truly remorseful and was anxious to change her ways and put it all behind her, said Mr Connor.