A SLEEPING householder was punched in the face and woke to find an intruder standing over him demanding money.

David Baikie broke into the home of Anthony Stevenson wearing gloves with reinforced knuckles, and armed with a kitchen knife and a table leg.

Over the next two hours, Baikie put Mr Stevenson, 56, through a terrifying ordeal that included marching him to a cashpoint machine.

Baikie demanded £200, but took £10 after he found his victim’s bank account was overdrawn, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Before being ordered to the cashpoint, Mr Stevenson was assaulted and threatened while in his home.

Paul Newcombe, prosecuting, said Baikie, 29, demanded rings from his victim’s fingers, and forced a tight-fitting one off with a screwdriver.

Mr Stevenson said: “I was in total fear of what may happen if it did not come off. It was so terrifying I could not believe it was actually happening.”

Baikie threatened to smash Mr Stevenson’s fingers and attack his dog, then ordered the householder to show him where he kept his money.

He ransacked the house, in Middlesbrough, for valuables, demanded food and then found an axe that he used to threaten his victim.

Mr Newcombe said the “cool and cold” intruder ran the blade of the axe across Mr Stevenson’s neck, saying: “Don’t think I won’t use this.”

Mr Stevenson told police that he was “frozen” on his sofa before his attacker knelt close to him on the floor and calmly rolled a cigarette.

Baikie ordered his victim to go with him to the bank, and made him lie to a concerned neighbour by saying he was a friend and that everything was okay.

The ordeal ended when Baikie took money from the cashpoint, and warned Mr Stevenson: “Don’t call the police or I’ll be back.”

A month later, Baikie and a teenager threatened student Geoffrey Miller, 25, with a bottle close to Middlesbrough town centre and stole his bag.

Father-of-four Baikie, of Valley Road, Middlesbrough, admitted two charges of robbery and was jailed for seven years.

His barrister, Ian Bradshaw, told the court: “He tells me he has never gone out of his way to harm, threaten or injure anyone until these occasions.

“What brought him to this was in March last year, he found himself homeless. He had no income – his benefits had been stopped – and was living rough.”

Mr Stevenson said: “I cannot stop shaking and thinking about what happened. Because of the attack, I have become like a hermit, rarely leaving the house.

“I have bought numerous security items for the house just to make me feel safer. I believe this male is extremely dangerous.”