Four men who attacked and robbed an innocent man at his West Hampstead home, which they mistook for a brothel, have been jailed for 23 years in total.

The victim, a 33-year-old forklift truck driver was in the garden of his Fordwych Road home in April this year, when three of the defendants accosted him.

They forced him into his home and subjected him to an horrific assault where they beat and slashed him three times with a kitchen knife.

He suffered serious injuries in the attack, including a severed tendon in his right hand and has been left with permanent scarring to both arms.

Police believe the defendants targeted the victim’s house because it had previously been used as a brothel, before being closed down.

During the assault, the men shouted: “Where’s the stash....where’s [sic] the girls?”

At Southwark Crown Court on Thursday (November 11) Chandra Kelly, 22, of Windermere Avenue, Finchley, was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment; Chisom Eriken, 18, of Ballards Lane, Finchley, was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment; Ali Shahali, 18, of Ballards Lane, Finchley was sentenced to five years and a 17-year-old youth who cannot be named for legal reasons was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

Three of the defendants stole two laptops and a games console in the attack, before fleeing in a waiting vehicle which Kelly drove.

After the sentencing DC Ben Tallick, from Camden’s Robbery Squad, said: “This appeared to be a pre-planned robbery at an address the convicted persons assumed was still a brothel. It quickly transpired however, it was in fact the home of an innocent member of the public. This did not deter them and they went on to assault and rob their victim in his own home.

“I would like to thank the members of the public who assisted with this investigation as without them, none of this would have been possible.”

Kelly was found guilty of robbery on October 20 this year, following a trial at Blackfriars Crown Court. The three other defendants pleaded guilty to robbery in July.