Oswestry robbers jailed over violent attack

Rafal Zaborowski, of Oswestry and Pawel Kulacz, of Newtown were both found guilty of robbery at Shrewsbury Crown Court. A third man was cleared by the jury.

Detective Sergeant Andy Chatting, from West Mercia Police CID, welcomed the lengthy sentences handed down to the pair and said it demonstrated to others that the courts deal harshly with violent offenders.

Zaborowski and Kulacz, both Polish nationals, were part of a gang of up to five men who burst into a house in Crestwood Court, Oswestry at about 11pm on Thursday 9 February 2012.

Their victim was in bed when he was woken by the sound of smashing glass, finding the gang outside his door when he got up to investigate.

He was struck several times in the face and threatened with a baseball bat, suffering cuts and bruising that needed hospital treatment.

DS Chatting said cash, a laptop and mobile phone were stolen.

"Zaborowski was arrested at the scene with the baseball bat and Kulacz a short distance away with the stolen laptop in his possession," he said.

"Both men denied the offence and continued to do so when it came to court but they were found guilty by a jury following trial.

"We had an excellent working relationship with the Polish police and despite initially denying he had any previous convictions, we quickly established that Kulacz had been convicted of a very similar offence in Poland before coming to the UK.

"Like all communities, whatever their nationalities, the overwhelming majority of Polish people in Shropshire are decent, hardworking individuals and it is a small minority who seem to unfairly tarnish that reputation."

DS Chatting also thanked all the witnesses who helped the police, especially in the early stages of the investigation.

"We got very good descriptions from witnesses of the offenders leaving the scene and as a result, police made arrests within minutes of the initial call," he added.

Both men face automatic deportation on their release from prison.