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A "drug-addled" Mansfield robber smashed his way into a vulnerable woman's home with a stolen pickaxe in the belief his terrified victim hadn't paid for chocolates and a shaving kit he'd previously sold her.

Sonny Wharmsby was recognised by his 69-year-old victim when he climbed through the broken window of her bungalow on Hickling Court in the early hours of November 27, last year.

Wharmsby demanded money and when she said she had none he waved the pickaxe around before sitting on her bed and frantically searching through her purse and bedside table.

Thomas Welshman, prosecuting, said she ran outside to her neighbour's home in her pyjamas and called the police. Wharmsby stole chocolates and a Gillette gift set he'd already sold her.

Sonny Wharmsby. (Picture: Nottinghamshire Police.)

Police spotted him entering a block of flats and, when they asked why he had blood on his hands, he told them he had been digging.

The court heard Wharmsby, aged 42, was recorded on CCTV crawling around on the roof of a shed on Garrett Avenue where he stole the pickaxe, shortly before the robbery.

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In a statement his victim said: “I no longer feel safe in my own home after the shock of what happened. I just feel on edge in my home where I used to feel comfort.

"My windows and doors are forever locked and I rarely leave my home. I don't know why he targeted me.”

Nottingham Crown Court heard he has 18 previous convictions for 61 offences but has stayed out of trouble since 2011

Gareth Gimson, mitigating, said Wharmby didn't use violence or ransack his victim's property after she fled.

"He formed the view she hadn't paid for the items in his drug-addled mind,” he said. “He accepts it is absolutely wrong to do that.”

He said Wharmby got clean of drugs and found an industrial cleaning job in 2011 but more recently fell off the wagon.

“He doesn't have a very clear recollection of what happened," added Mr Gimson. “His attitude yesterday was, “I know I deserve to go to prison.””

Wharmsby, of Argyle Street, Mansfield, admitted robbery and burglary on the day of his trial.

On Tuesday, Recorder Simon Ash KC jailed him for 50 months and imposed a restraining order, banning him from contacting his victim, for five years.

'Drug-addled' Mansfield robber smashed his way into vulnerable woman’s home with stolen pickaxe