Quadriplegic Kidnapped And Robbed For £7

Couple Kidnapped And Robbed Disabled Man For Unbelievably Small Amount Of Cash

A couple kidnapped and robbed a vulnerable quadriplegic to get away with £7.

Sarah Harcourt, 35, and Adam Webster, 38, took wheelchair-user Stephen Dooley from a day centre in Norwich before pushing him to Chapelfield Park in the city where they took his small change.

A court heard the defendants then abandoned Mr Dooley, who managed to make his way back to the centre alone and staff raised the alarm following the incident on August 8 last year, Norfolk Police said.

Harcourt and Webster, who were partners at the time, were arrested 40 minutes after the incident was reported to police and were identified as a result of CCTV inquiries.

Sarah Harcourt and Adam Webster took wheelchair-user Stephen Dooley from a day centre

The pair were questioned by detectives and later charged with kidnap and robbery, which Harcourt, of Gypsy Close, Norwich, admitted at an earlier hearing.

Webster, from the city's William Kett Close, denied the offences but was convicted by a jury at Norwich Crown Court yesterday.

Harcourt was sentenced to four years while Webster was jailed for six years, the force confirmed.

Harcourt was also sentenced to a further 12 weeks imprisonment for a separate theft offence.

Mr Dooley, 38, can use only one arm and cannot speak.

Harcourt was sentenced to four years

Webster was jailed for six years

He gave evidence in court communicating through an interpreter and using a computer.

Speaking after sentence, his father the Rev Gerald Dooley said he struggled to comprehend why two people would do this and said the crime was "way outside humanity".

He said: "You hear things all the time but you never think something like this will happen to your family."

Investigating officer Detective Constable Jim Starling, from Norwich CID, described the pair as "the lowest of the low".

"For two people to target a man who clearly has no means of defending himself or even calling for help is beyond belief," he said.

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