A MUM-of-two was confronted by three masked intruders, who kicked in the front door of her tower block flat late at night.

Deza Clouder heard her buzzer sound as she lay in bed at about 10.30pm but did not answer it. Then she heard repeated banging on the door, which was then knocked off its hinges.

Prosecutor Edward Phillips told the city crown court that when she walked out of the bedroom of her flat in Havre Towers, Weston, Southampton, she saw three men, one armed with a hammer, with their faces covered by scarves. One stood in the hallway and the others were in her kitchen diner.

When she asked what they wanted one replied: “We want your money.” She was then struck on the side of the face with the hammer.

Mr Phillips, however, told Recorder Nigel Lickley QC: “Although she was hit she felt he had not hit her as hard as he could have done.”

The trio then fled empty handed.

Giving the police a description of the intruders, she told them she had no money and had little of value in her flat.

Christopher Glasspool, 19, of Millers Pond Gardens, Sholing, admitted aggravated burglary.

Jailing him for four-and-a-half years, the judge told the teenager: “One can only imagine how she must have felt. I accept your remorse but this is a very serious offence.”

In mitigation, Benjamin Gordon said Glasspool was easily led and suffered from low esteem.

“What stands out about him is that people speak of his kind nature and willingness to help others. It is difficult to reconcile that with the seriousness of what he was involved in.”