A MAN has been found guilty of a string of offences, including kidnapping a terrified elderly couple from their remote country cottage in the middle of the night.

Kazm Saed had denied being the person responsible for the crime spree but was found guilty by a jury today (Friday)following a week-long trial at the Isle of Wight Crown Court.

Saed, 26, of no fixed address, had always maintained he wasn't the man responsible for the seven offences, which included kidnap, burglary and robbery.

Saed first smashed entry into Mountbatten's warehouse on Riverway, and stole items from inside, including computer monitors.

He stored the items on a boat nearby.

The next day, he committed an aggravated burglary at a home on Riverway, where the boat was moored.

The victim was 84-year-old Graham Deacon, who underwent a terrifying ordeal after coming face-to-face with the knifeman in his bedroom.

The burglar stole his bank card, took away his mobile phone and cut the light cord with his knife, leaving Mr Deacon in darkness.

Saed later denied everything, despite his fingerprints being found on the external window frame of the property.

In court, he had no explanation for his fingerprints being there, apart from suggesting: "Maybe it was someone similar to me".

The day after the burglary at Mr Deacon's, police found the items on the boat, including a rucksack, hoodie and two computer monitors.

They spotted Saed nearby, who denied the items were his. Police took him into custody, releasing him a few days later pending further investigation.

Prosecutor, Gary Venturi, said this action allowed the next incident to happen — when Saed went on to burgle and kidnap Graham and Rachel Fuller at their home on Nunnery Lane, Newport, in the early hours of June 4.

Mr Venturi said to Saed in court: "You were released by police and thought you had got away with it so you completed another burglary."

Mr Fuller, in his late 80s, was in bed naked when he became aware the bedroom light had been turned on.

Read more: Bravery of kidnapped couple

Mr Fuller said in his police interview: "I was horrified to find a stranger in the room. He was threatening me and had a knife.

"My wife had woken up. The man said 'I want money or I will kill you. I will kill your wife'."

The Fullers scrambled together around £25 but the intruder wanted more.

Mr Fuller said: "He was holding a sort of dagger to my throat. I feared the consequences would be somewhat dire if we resisted him.

"He was convinced we had more money in the house. He said we would go in my car (to get some) but I was a bit dubious.

"He was still threatening me. The blade was five to six inches long. I thought at first it was a kitchen knife but it seemed more like a dagger which you could plunge into flesh."

`The couple were forced to drive to a cashpoint, with their kidnapper as a passenger.

Although the man didn't want them to go to Newport — insisting on Sandown or Ventnor — Mr Fuller bravely drove into the middle of Newport.

He told police: "It struck me if we went to Barclays Bank, someone could come by and we could somehow indicate we were in trouble."

They each withdrew £300, the maximum amount allowed, and handed it over to Saed.

Isle of Wight County Press: The Fullers' cottage in Newport.The Fullers' cottage in Newport.

He asked them to drive back to their house, but at Cedar Hill he jumped out and headed towards Carisbrooke Castle.

The couple, too afraid to go home, stopped at a phonebox and dialled 999. Within minutes the police arrived.

Mr Fuller said he felt he would be lucky to come out of the situation alive.

Later that morning, Saed was arrested at Costa Coffee in Newport.

He said he had been asleep at the time of the kidnapping, at a friend's house in Newport, but couldn't give the name or address of his friend.

He said he had never been to the Fullers' cottage or in their car.

Saed's DNA was found on partially eaten bread at the Fullers' cottage. When asked to explain this, Mr Saed told the court: "Fabricated. Wasn't mine."

The Fullers both picked Mr Saed out of an identity line-up.

Russell Pyne, for Saed, said "he must have said 100 times" that he didn't commit the offences.

Saed will be sentenced by Recorder Paul Garlick later today.