A 42-year-old thief who preyed on the elderly in Belsize Park and threatened one victim with a saw has been jailed for 10 years.

Pensioners suffered a spree of thefts earlier this year when Charles Sheehan snuck into their homes, physically intimidated them and then ransacked their properties.

Sheehan was captured on CCTV after knocking a 91-year-old woman to the floor and making off with her handbag.

Two days later he let himself into an 83-year-old man’s house in Maitland Park Villas, pretending to be a Camden Council worker.

When the pensioner challenged the intruder, Sheehan pushed the elderly man to the ground and threatened him with a handsaw.

He then ransacked the house and rummaged through the 83-year-old’s pockets.

Sheehan, of no fixed abode, was arrested on April 22 and sentenced to 10 years in prison at Blackfriars Crown Court on October 19 for three counts of robbery and for failing to appear in court.

Robbery chief Detective Inspector Iain Maddison said: “These offences were particularly distressing as Sheehan targeted vulnerable elderly people in their own homes and left them very shaken.

“I hope news of this sentence will reassure the victims and the wider community that we are dedicated to bringing perpetrators of robbery to justice.”