Two men will be sentenced by a judge next month after a man suffered a stab wound.

Andrew Smith, 37, and Craig Branney, 27, are facing jail sentences after they each entered guilty pleas at Carlisle Crown Court.

Smith admitted wounding Lee Flynn with intent, while Branney admitted a lesser wounding charge.

It follows an incident on January 15 in the Duke Street area of Cleator Moor which was said to have left Mr Flynn with a stab wound and suffering from a punctured lung.

No details about the offence were given during the short hearing before Recorder Mark Ainsworth.

But it was stated both men had entered their pleas on the basis of the prosecution case.

Prosecutor Wayne Jackson acknowledged that Branney had pleaded guilty to a less serious wounding offence. He said that was acceptable to those bringing the case against the duo.

"Smith is clearly the assailant with a knife. Branney, although present, stops the second blow," Mr Jackson told the court.

Kim Whittlestone, defending Branney, asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared on him.

This, she hoped, might put forward an alternative sentence to immediate custody.

"He did have the sense to seek to stop any further violence," Miss Whittlestone explained of the January crime.

No such report was requested in the case of Smith. He was said by his barrister Brendan Burke to be anxious to learn his fate as soon as possible.

Recorder Mark Ainsworth concluded that both defendants should be sentenced together and adjourned their case until next month.

Smith, of High Street, Cleator Moor, and Branney, of Greystone Place, Cleator, are due to be sentenced at the crown court on June 6.

In the meantime both were remanded in custody.