A CARLISLE woman woke at 3am to find a masked man standing over her bed brandishing a knife and demanding money.

The intruder repeatedly asked the terrified women to tell him where her partner was and where his money was, Carlisle Crown Court heard. Stewart Brown, 26, later admitted an aggravated burglary.

He also admitted a second offence, possessing an offensive weapon – namely a knife – in a public place on a different occasion.

Prosecutor Brendan Burke outlined what happened during the aggravated burglary on the morning of June 18, 2019. The victim was asleep at her home in Rose Court, Carlisle.

“She was awoken between 2am and 3am by Stewart Brown, standing over her bed with a knife in his hand, repeatedly asking where Ben was and then where his money was,” said Mr Burke.

After the intruder had left, the woman discovered that her phone, bank cards and handbag had been stolen. There was no sign of forced entry – a fact explained by the defendant having previously lived there.

The victim believed he had a set of keys and used these to get into her home.

Describing the second incident, Mr Burke said it happened at 3.30pm on October 16 of last year, and the entire thing was captured on CCTV which covers Ridley Road in Currock, Carlisle.

The key witness told police there was a dispute between him and Brown, who contacted him and suggested they have a fight to "settle their differences".

Mr Burke said: “[The witness] went to the defendant’s address to sort this out. When he got there, the defendant exited his address with a large knife in his right hand and walked towards him on the street.”

The man quickly backed away and left the area.

The court heard that Brown has four previous offences on his record, including one for possessing a bladed article in public.

Kim Whittlestone, defending, told the court: “The defendant is aware that this is going to be a lengthy custodial sentence and he’s prepared for that. There’s little mitigation other than his guilty plea.”

Brown admitted the burglary on the second day of his trial – and it was the prospect of the victim giving evidence that made the defendant finally accept the reality of what he had done that night.

His father had also just been taken into hospital and that impacted on him.

Miss Whittlestsone told Judge Ian Unsworth KC: “It won’t be surprising to Your Honour to hear that the defendant became addicted to illegal substances and was mixing with those involved in the use of illegal substances.” The burglary was motivated by the need for his associate to buy those drugs.

While in prison on remand, Brown, of Eskdale Avenue, Carlisle, had become “absolutely determined” to become drug free and had reduced his methadone script. He had also taken a course in customer service and was working as a prison cleaner.

Sadly, while he was in custody, his grandfather died, and Brown had missed the funeral. He was now determined to remain drug free in the future. Judge Unsworth jailed Brown for six years and nine months.

After sentence was passed, Detective Constable Dawn Grant said: “Waking to find a man in your house armed with a knife, with his face covered, must have been a terrifying experience.

“The police and the courts take such offending extremely seriously, particularly when there is the presence of a knife. This is reflected in the sentence handed down today at court.

“There is no excuse for anyone to be walking the streets of Cumbria in possession of a knife. Doing so puts people at significant risk of serious injury or death – including the person carrying the knife."

Cumbria Police is this week taking part in Operation Sceptre, a national campaign which the force supports,  aimed at ensuring that residents are safe from knife crime in their community.

The operation includes a knife amnesty where people can handed in dangerous bladed articles in order to make themselves and their communities a safer place. Find out more by clincing this Operation Sceptre link.

Court records also show Brown's first name spelled as Stuart.