A gang who committed a series of violent armed robberies in the north-eastern corner of the Netherlands have been given jail sentences of up to 29 years.

A 72-year-old man was shot dead in his home when the men broke in and demanded cash and valuables. Other victims were beaten with crowbars and a hammer, while another had a hot iron pressed against his arm.

The six men, aged between 27 and 39, broke into seven people’s homes and raided a petrol station looking for cigarettes during the crime spree in an area stretching from Hoorn to Alkmaar in 2020 and 2021.

Judges at the high-security district court at Schiphol said they had “never come across such a gang” and described the violence as “in the absolute highest category”.

Prosecutors said the victims’ lives had been left in tatters by the experience. “There are victims who still sleep every night in a barricaded panic room and don’t dare to go outside,” a prosecution lawyer said.

The longest sentence of 29 years was handed down to 31-year-old Glenn V., while three men who together with V. formed the “hard core” of the gang were jailed for between 20 and 27 years.

Two men who were involved in one of the robberies received sentences of 6 and a half years and three years and nine months respectively. The men were also ordered to pay compensation to several of their victims.