Two masked raiders who launched a violent late night burglary at a couple's flat have been locked up for a total of 16 years.

Anthony Callander, 46, posed as police officer to trick his way into the property in Cleator Moor along with accomplice Antony Gunn.

Having disguised their faces and covered their footwear with plastic bags, Callander and 30-year-old Gunn then used violence to threaten the occupants while armed with a metal wheel brace.

The male victim was punched several times in the head, and personal items were also stolen during the June 13.

Callander, of Duke Street, Cleator Moor, and Gunn were each jailed for eight years today at Carlisle Crown Court.

They had both pleaded guilty to a joint aggravated burglary charge.

Gunn, of Sea View Place, Cleator Moor, also admitted having an imitation firearm - an air weapon - in a public place in Whitehaven on January 14. He had six months added to his jail term for that crime.

Judge Peter Hughes QC told the men they had committed a "serious and planned invasion" of the victims' address.