Pair who carried out attempted robbery in Hawkinge in which man was stabbed are jailed

A man and a woman who carried out an attempted robbery during which a man was stabbed have both been jailed.

Brett and Ieasha Gilham attacked the victim at his home in Hawkinge on Friday 24 March 2023 after the victim heard someone knocking at his front door. He opened it to find Brett Gilham claiming to have collided with his car.

Brett Gilham then forced the front door and he and Ieasha Gillham chased the man into his living room demanding money. Ieasha Gilham then stabbed the man in the back before the victim managed to get out of his home and raise the alarm with a neighbour.

The offenders fled the scene and emergency services arrived, rushing the victim to a London hospital with serious injuries.

The Gilhams were identified from CCTV and Brett Gilham was arrested in Tunbridge Wells three days after the incident. Detectives tracked Ieasha down to the West Midlands, where she was arrested four days after the offence.

At Maidstone Crown Court, Ieasha Gilham, 40, formerly of an address in Hawkinge, admitted wounding with intent and having a bladed article and she was sentenced to three years nine months on Friday 16 August 2024.

Brett Gilham, 36, formerly of a Cranbrook address, received a six-year sentence at the same hearing after he admitted attempted robbery.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Tony Gregory said:

‘The Gilhams’ actions were completely reckless and it is only thanks to the work of paramedics that we are not dealing with a far more serious offence.

‘The speed of the investigation led to the offenders being quickly identified and arrested, despite their attempts to evade justice, and I am pleased these two dangerous people have now been removed from the streets of Kent.’