Joseph Isaacs sentenced to 20 years for carrying out "barbaric" hammer attack on Jim Booth

Judge David Ticehurst sentenced him to 16 years in prison, plus a four-year extension, for attempting to murder the former Navy commander in his Taunton home.

The court heard victim impact statements from Mr Booth and his daughter, Victoria Pugh, stating how he still suffers from “debilitating pain” following the attack on November 22.

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Isaacs visited Mr Booth’s home in Gipsy Lane, Taunton, on Wednesday, November 22, and offered to repair a roof tile for a good price.

But when Mr Booth told him the tile was being taken care of, Isaacs followed him into his house and viciously attacked him with a claw hammer.

Mr Booth made his first court appearance today and was described by Judge Ticehurst as an “extraordinary and remarkable gentleman.”

Addressing Isaacs, the judge said: “Only you (Isaacs) will know what possessed you last year to attack Mr Booth in the way that you did.

“Because he rejected your demand for money, you then savagely attacked him with a claw hammer which you took with you for that purpose.

“Money was your motive. You shouted ‘money, money, money’ at Jim Booth and stole his bank card.

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“He was 96 living in his own home but with remarkable independence and vigour. You struck him repeatedly about the head and body and the affect upon him and his family has been devastating. His life has been changed out of all recognition.

“Should you then attack and try and murder somebody in their own home is inexplicable. Your explanation that you suffered from a nervous breakdown is no justification.

“A man who largely led a law-abiding life to carry out a savage attack raises concern in my mind you may again commit such a serious offence without warning.”

Rachel Drake, prosecutor, read a victim impact statement from Mr Booth who cared for his wife who developed Alzheimer’s Disease before her death in 2009.

Since then, he has immersed himself in the community and became a church organist and joined two choirs.

The statement added: “Before the attack I regularly cycled for pleasure, went to the gym, and jogged every morning and did demanding work in my garden. I had an active social life. As a result of the attack, many of my activities are now at risk.”

Mr Booth said he suffers severe head and hand pain, the degree of which varies from “just about coping to having to be in bed all day.”

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He frequently has to cancel musical activities and he fears he is at risk of losing his driving license “which will make me very isolated.”

Mrs Pugh described her father as a “wonderful person” who lived for his four children and “adored” his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

“For 10 years he dedicated himself to caring for his wife in their own home until her death nine years ago - she could not have had a more loving or devoted husband,” she said.

“At the centre of his life has always been his family. The moment of first seeing him in hospital after the attack will stay with us forever.

“Our father always will be our own family hero and captain on the gate and we are immensely proud of him every day.”

She said there is no effective treatment for his "debilitating" head pain and he fears the symptoms will threaten his independence.

Before the attack on November 22 last year, Isaacs had only two previous convictions for shoplifting.

Edd Hetherington, defending, said: “There is little I can say in true mitigation in this case. He is as much at a loss as I am in why he behaved the way he did.”

Isaacs, 40, of no fixed abode, but formerly of Exeter, in Devon, had previously admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent, aggravated burglary and seven counts of fraud, relating to the use of Mr Booth’s bank card, including at a fast-food restaurant just a few hours after the attack.

Following the attack, a blood-splattered Mr Booth, who is unsure whether he lost consciousness, made his way to a neighbour’s house where police were called.

He was rushed to hospital with significant head injuries, including a significant skull depression.

During the war, Lt Cdr Booth joined the Combined Operations Pilotage and Reconnaissance Parties (COPP) and trained for covert beach explorations at a wartime military base set up on Hayling Island in Hampshire in 1943 under the instruction of Lord Mountbatten.

At the age of 23, Lt Cdr Booth became a pilot for the X-craft, tiny submarines that waited on the seabed for days at a time, and sailed from Portsmouth to Normandy to scout out where British forces could safely land. On D-Day, Lt Cdr Booth climbed into a fold-up canoe and shone a beacon out to sea to guide Allied craft safely to shore.

Lt Cdr Booth, who was later awarded the Croix de Guerre military medal by France for his gallantry, has four children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.