One man was jailed for five years while two men walked free yesterday after receiving suspended jail terms for the robbery of a 68-year-old, who abandoned his home in terror two years ago.

Two men today walked free from court after receiving suspended jail terms for their robbery of a 68-year-old man who abandoned his west Clare home after being terrorised there by robbers.

A Co Clare community felt "revulsion" at the ordeal of an elderly man who cycled 30 miles in the middle of the night to escape intruders at his home.

A 68-year-old man abandoned his home and cycled 30 miles through the night to check himself into a nursing home after being terrorised twice by robbers at his remote home in west Clare.

At 10pm on Feb 21, 2012, bachelor Michael McMahon heard banging outside his home in rural Co Clare and could see three torches in the darkness outside.