Two thugs who punched and stabbed a vulnerable man and threatened to slice his eyelids off have been jailed.

Joshua Wise, 21, and Stuart Keeling, 24, barged their way into the victim’s groundfloor flat in a late night robbery.

They pushed him onto the bed and demanded he hand over his phone and bank card before Wise put a knife to his throat.

Keeling punched the man and said he would cut his eyelids. The victim managed to wriggle free but Wise stabbed him in the back.

The thugs then squeezed a bottle of washing up liquid over him as he begged them to call an ambulance.

They eventually fled the flat in Coventry but were caught days later after the victim’s neighbour recognised Wise and called police.

The pair, both of Coventry, admitted robbery when they appeared at Warwick Crown Court on Monday.

The court heard they carried out the attack in October 2019 while Wise was on licence from prison after serving a term for attempted robbery.

Wise was jailed for eight years while Keeling was sentenced to nearly six years.

Judge Anthony Potter told Wise: ‘If you were not aware of the vulnerabilities of those living there, I am satisfied you knew within moments he was a man with mental health difficulties.

‘He was not sufficiently robust to resist you, and you effectively forced your way into his property.

‘You used that time in the property not to thank him for letting you in, but to terrify him, and it is quite plain you took the lead role.

‘You bullied him with the assistance of Mr Keeling, not just to get items, but to exert power over him.

‘It was all designed to humiliate him and show him you were in control.’

Addressing Keeling, Judge Potter said: ‘[The victim] described it as a brutal and terrifying attack, and you should feel thoroughly ashamed of your part in it.

‘The way you conducted yourself in that property may not have been as bad as Mr Wise, but it did you no credit.

‘You were prowling round in the background while Mr Wise was humiliating him and eventually stabbing him, and when you were invited by Mr Wise to have ‘a free hit,’ you did not make your excuses, you hit him.

‘But I take account of the fact you were under pressure from Mr Wise and do not have the previous convictions he has.’

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