
Henry Vincent has been named as the man who died after a pensioner clashed with suspected burglars at his home in south-east London on Tuesday night

A 'burglar' who died after struggling with a pensioner during a break-in was a career criminal who helped con frail pensioners out of more £500,000 with his family.

Henry Vincent died from a stab wound following a burglary at the south London home of 78-year-old Richard Osborn-Brooks and his wife Maureen on Tuesday night. A second man remains on the run.

Father-of-four Vincent, 37, was once on a 'most wanted' list and he was named by police as details of his criminal past emerged.

In 2003, members of his family were jailed for a total of almost 29 years at Croydon Crown Court after they conned pensioners out of £448,180.

He was in a gang with his father and five of his uncles and the group operated in Kent and south London.

They would knock on doors and say homeowners had structural problems and promised they would fix it for huge fees.

The gang would even escort the vulnerable victims to their banks so they could withdraw the cash to pay for the work.

Two of the family members persuaded a woman in her 80s to sign away her £150,000 property and the gang admitted deception charges after conning homeowners out of £448,180.

Vincent was jailed for four-and-a-half years and his father, Henry Charles Vincent, was locked up for five-and-a-half years for their involvement.

His uncle Clifford Vincent was jailed for four-and-half years along with David Vincent who was sentenced to six years.





Vincent had previously been jailed for his part in conning pensioners out of money for home repairs. Mr Osborn-Brooks (right) has been released on bail by police

Police and council workers took up drains on Thursday in an apparent bid to find the screwdriver used during the raid

Meanwhile, Robert Vincent was jailed for four-and-a-half years, John Jack Vincent was locked up for two years and Steven Vincent was jailed for 21 months.

Vincent's bogus builder father was also jailed for six years after he was convicted of fraud in 2011 after he carried out roof repairs with his son.

The pair took more than £72,000 from the 81-year-old man to replace a single tile on his roof, which should have cost him just £50. In 2009, Henry Jr received a six-year sentence.

And last year, his uncle Robert was jailed for five years and three months after he preyed on a vulnerable man and urged him to sign over his house when he had already persuaded him to hand over £14,000 for work on his home.

Henry Jr was also hunted by detectives after a distraction burglary in which a man in his 70s was targeted in Farningham, Kent, in November last year.

In that incident, a crying woman came to the front door of the elderly victim and said she had been attacked. But when the woman left the house, the elderly man discovered his front door had been left open and a jewellery box containing valuables had been stolen.

Scores of officers have been brought in to the south-east London residential street to aid the search for clues into the raid

The detective in charge of the investigation on Thursday appealed for any information on the break-in

But a close relative told the Daily Telegraph Vincent was a 'gentle giant' and he had simply 'got in with the wrong crowd'.

They said: 'Henry got in with the crowd. He used to be a good professional boxer. He was wrong to do a burglary, I agree, but he didn't deserve to die because of it.

'He was a gentle giant with three beautiful girls and what happened to him was wrong.'

In 2013, Vincent was put on Kent Police's 'most wanted' list when he was wanted over another burglary, this time in Gravesend.

Scotland Yard confirmed his death, saying in a statement: 'Henry suffered a stab wound to the upper body. He was taken by the London Ambulance Service to a central London hospital where he was pronounced dead at 03:37hrs. A post-mortem examination has given a provisional cause of death as a stab wound.'

Criminal family jailed for more than 54 years Henry Joseph Vincent 2003 - Jailed four-and-a-half years 2009 - Jailed for six years Henry Charles Vincent (father) 2003 - Jailed for five-and-a-half years 2011 - Jailed for six years Robert Vincent (uncle) 2003 - Jailed for four-and-a-half years 2011 - Jailed for eight years 2017 - Jailed for five years and three months Clifford Vincent (uncle) 2003 - Jailed four-and-a-half years David Vincent (uncle) 2003 - Jailed for six years John Jack Vincent (uncle) 2003 - Jailed for two years Steven Vincent (uncle) 2003 - Jailed for 21 months Advertisement

Relatives of Vincent declined to comment. It is unclear whether he faced charges following either of the previous police appeals.

Meanwhile, neighbours, friends and members of the public showed their support for Mr Osborn-Brooks, with celebrities including TV Dragon Duncan Bannatyne calling for him not to be punished and the hashtag #FreeRichardOsbornBrooks being widely used on Twitter.

Neighbour Nick Myatt said: 'He's a lovely old man and he cares for his wife, who I think has dementia or is disabled. He's a nice man, nice to talk to. I hope the law sees sense and lets him off. I don't think it's right.'

Mr Osborn-Brooks has now been released from a police station near his home in Hither Green, south-east London pending an investigation by murder detectives. Police have ordered him to return on a date in early May.

Local resident Val Barclay, 63, said of Mr Osborn-Brooks: 'He deserves a medal. You can't break into people's houses, especially when he's a carer for his wife and they were in bed. This is a pensioner who has worked all his life and wants to live and die quietly.

Friend Tony Guest wrote online: 'So this is British justice is it? Where is our protection? The old man deserves a medal and to be let free. Now you know why America has guns.'

Detectives opened up drains in the street this morning in an apparent bid to find weapons or any other clues in the case.

Moyo Ojo, who lives next door to the elderly couple, said he heard the struggle between the pensioner and the burglar.

'I heard the shouts of the struggle,' he said. 'There were a number of voices, some screams but I couldn't make out the words.

'That kitchen is very small he wouldn't have had the opportunity to run. He is an old man but it's fight or flight. It's unfortunate that he was put in that kind of situation.'

Mr Osborn-Brooks' cousin, Zoe Brooks, welcomed news that he had been freed this morning and noted the widespread support he had received.

She told the Evening Standard: 'Of course everyone is shocked. He has a lot of support. His release is great news. But we know as much as you at the moment.'

In 2003, Vincent's father, Henry Charles Vincent (left) Vincent was locked up for five-and-a-half years, while his uncle Robert Vincent (right) was jailed for four-and-a-half years

Members of the public have posted hundreds of messages of support for the pensioner on Twitter this morning

Businessman and TV 'Dragon' Duncan Bannatyne was among the many backing the pensioner online

A crowdfunding page has also been set up to cover any legal costs he may face in future

Mr Osborn-Brooks, pictured at a clay pigeon shoot in 2010, lived at the house with his wife Maureen, who is understood to have disabilities

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe crowd-funding page has been set up to raise money the pensioner may need to cover future legal costs or to aid his recovery after the incident.

The decision to release him means authorities have at least a month to decide whether to charge him as police continue to search for the second burglary suspect.

Police appealed for the public's help in tracking down the second man who broke into the elderly couple's home.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harding, who is leading the investigation, said this morning: 'I would like to speak with anyone who has information regarding the outstanding suspect from the burglary, who is believed to be a white male; he may have told someone what happened at the address.

'It is possible that he fled the scene in a vehicle, possibly a white van, leaving the scene in the direction of Further Green Road.

'Did you see this vehicle? Do you know where it went after this? I ask anyone to contact our incident room as soon as possible.

Wave of support for OAP as GoFundMe page is launched after his arrest for 'stabbing burglar' At the time of Mr Osborn-Brooks's arrest, he received a huge wave of support from the public who stressed that he should not face criminal action for stabbing an armed burglar to death. Supporters around the world retweeted the hashtag #FreeRichardOsbornBrooks, particularly in the US, where there are more liberal laws on the rights of homeowners to defend themselves from intruders. A crowdfunding page was set up to pay for any legal costs Mr Osborn-Brooks may have faced in the future. It raised more than £200 in its first four hours. An online petition was among the many campaigns started in support of Richard Osborn-Brooks since the raid in April last year Gemma Sargeant, from nearby Chislehurst, who started the fund, wrote: 'I can't begin to imagine what he must be feeling right now having gone through this and how worried he must be about his wife whilst being held in custody. 'Given the recent burglaries in the area many people are outraged by this. People should be entitled to protect themselves and the increase in crime with no resolution is not good enough!' More than 500 people also signed a petition calling for better treatment for those who defend themselves against burglars. The petition, states: 'I do not think that the 78 year old man who was burgled and held with a screwdriver at his home at Hither Green, London should be arrested or charged with murder. 'A person should have the right to defend themselves, their belongings and their home. Had the burglars harmed him physically, all they would have been given would be a slap on the wrist. When will the Criminalisation of Victims of crime who defend themselves stop?' Advertisement

Police continued to work at Mr Osborn-Brooks's home. It is unclear where he is staying after he was freed from custody

Police continue to search the road where the burglar collapsed as they hunt for his accomplice,who drove off in a van

Police have appealed for information on anyone with any information about the men who carried out the raid to come forward

Loose Women's Nadia Sawalha on her brush with burglars Nadia Sawalha wanted to confront burglars at her parents' home TV Presenter Nadia Sawalha told of her sympathies with Richard Osborn-Brooks after she discovered intruders in her parents home. The Loose Women panelist told the show burglars broke in to her parents' home when they were away. She said: 'I heard someone upstairs and I went into fight mode. 'I started shouting to make it sound like there was twenty of us and I stormed up the stairs. ' However, her sisters stopped her confronting the men and she called the police. She added: 'Looking back, I never thought in a million years I would do that but something takes over.' Advertisement

Mr Osborn-Brooks was in bed with his wife when two raiders burst in shortly after midnight yesterday.

The pensioner was marched into the kitchen of their suburban £500,000 home by one man carrying a screwdriver, while his accomplice went upstairs to ransack the property as his wife Maureen, 76, who is said to have dementia, lay defenceless and terrified.

A struggle ensued in the kitchen and the 37-year-old intruder was stabbed in the chest as Mr Osborn-Brooks grappled with him in an apparent attempt to take the weapon and protect himself and his wife.

Bleeding heavily, the robber then tried to flee. But he collapsed in a pool of blood after staggering 250 yards from the front door of the end-of-terrace property in Hither Green, South-East London.

The second burglar, who police say was also armed, fled in a van, leaving his accomplice for dead after trying unsuccessfully to bundle him into the getaway vehicle.

After Mr Osborn-Brooks was arrested, neighbour Clem Williams said: 'The man has a right to defend his home. They should let him go. My personal opinion is, 'Why were the men at his house?''

As residents said there had been a spate of burglaries in the area, Neighbourhood Watch member Sylbourne Sydial said: 'A man should be able to defend his home. It's not as if to say he had a cutlass or a machete or a knife.'

In a notorious previous case, Norfolk farmer Tony Martin was jailed for life for murder after shooting a 16-year-old burglar in the back at his home in 1999.

Since then ministers have toughened up protection for householders. In England and Wales they can use 'disproportionate force' to challenge an intruder in their home, which could include the use of lethal force.

Officers and paramedics attempted to save the burglar, who was stripped of his clothes as they tried to stem the bleeding from a single wound. He was taken to hospital but died at 3.37am.

Forensics officers outside the home of a 78-year-old man who remains in custody after he was arrested after he fought with a suspected burglar who broke into his house

Officers are currently scouring the man's home for evidence as they question the pensioner

A huge investigation is being mounted in the aear by Scotland Yard's homicide team

The alleged intruder is understood to have been found collapsed in a neighbouring street after fleeing the couple's home

Shocked locals on the quiet road said they had been woken by the moans of the wounded intruder.

Gordon Williams, 44, said: 'I had just gone to bed and I heard moaning and groaning. At first I thought this man was drunk, but when I looked out of the window I saw a white Vauxhall Astra van pulled up beside him.

'A black man was saying to the guy on the ground, 'Come on, get in the van'. He was trying to drag him but it wasn't working.'

Mr Williams added: 'The black guy then looked up to my window and saw me, so he ran back into the van and drove off. My wife heard the clang of metal on the ground and saw him throw something out of the van's window.

'The man on the ground was white and was bleeding heavily from his chest. The wound was an inch long.' Police were unable to confirm whether the suspect had been stabbed with the screwdriver. Mr Osborn-Brooks, who suffered bruising to his arms, was later led away in handcuffs.

A friend of Mr Osborn-Brooks posted this message online saying he should get a medal

A forensics tent has been put up outside the house, whose owner is said to have been retired for more than 26 years

A large team of forensics experts were drafted into the area last night

He was initially arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm but arrested on suspicion of murder after the man died.

Friends described their shock at his arrest, describing him as a 'gentle' retired RAC office manager who was devoted to his wife and was a 'typical English gentleman'.

Tony Guest, 69, who worked with him in the 1970s at the offices of the RAC in Croydon, said Mr Osborn-Brooks was an office manager in the membership department, but had been 'more of a friend than a boss'.

'He was gentle and very intelligent, probably too intelligent for the job he was doing then,' he added. 'He was never rowing or shouting at people. He was a very calm person.'

A neighbour who had done building work for Mr Osborn-Brooks said: 'He's retired, but a nice guy, keeps himself to himself and goes out shopping once a week and that's about it. Nice as pie.'

Others said that Mr Osborn-Brooks had lived on the road for more than 20 years and was a friendly face at street parties, although his frail wife was seldom seen outside the house.

A police evidence tent has been put up outside Mr Osborn-Brooks's home by police