TWO men have been jailed for a total of 22 years for the brutal rape of a woman.

Stuart Milne, 37, has today been jailed for 12 years, while Terry Parry, 30, was locked up for 10 years.

The pair, of different addresses in Bow Fell Road, Whitehaven, had denied rape but were convicted by a jury after a seven-day trial.

The 11-person jury took seven hours and three minutes to unanimously convict them.

However, Milne was cleared of a separate charge of sexual assault.

The pair subjected an 18-year-old woman to a terrifying attack in St Nicholas Gardens, Whitehaven, in June last year.

The trial had heard how she had dialled 999 during the rape, and was heard telling the men to get off her.

Detective Constable Martin Hodgson said: “The victim is still dealing with the trauma caused by this terrible attack. She has been extremely brave throughout the whole process and hopefully the sentence imposed today will go some way to help her recovery.

“Make no mistake about this, Parry and Milne did not gain consent from their victim and what happened was rape. They have shown no remorse for their actions whatsoever.

“Consent to sexual activity in law is clearly defined and must be given freely and fully."

Detective Inspector Ian Harwood who led the investigation said: “Rape and sexual offences have a huge impact on victims and their families.

"Whilst every case is different and the outcome of an investigation can never be predicted, Cumbria Constabulary is committed to thoroughly and compassionately investigating all reports of rape and serious sexual offences.

"We will not stop in our drive to bring offenders to justice and hopefully this outcome will help to encourage victims of serious sexual offences to have the confidence to come forward and report it.”