A JUDGE warned two Carlisle men they face long jail terms after they admitted staging an armed burglary at a house in the city. 

Bernard Broughton, 42, and his co-defendant Brian Lamb, 60, each entered a guilty plea to an allegation of aggravated burglary at a property on Petteril Bank Road on May 28.

The charge states that the time they were carrying weapons. Broughton also admitted a criminal damage charge – involving him smashing up a table at the property.

Both defendants denied a further charge that they subjected a man to an actual bodily harm assault – denials which were accepted by the prosecution.

The prosecution accepted the defendants' not guilty pleas to two further charges, relating to the possession of weapons named as a mallet and a screwdriver.

The men's guilty pleas to the aggravated burglary charge adequately encompassed their offending, said the prosecution barrister. 

Mark Shepherd, for Broughton, of Howard Place, Carlisle, asked the judge, Recorder Michael Blakey, to adjourn the case so that a pre-sentence report can be prepared.

His client envisaged a “lengthy custodial sentence,” said Mr Shepherd.

Tariq Khawam, for Lamb, of Manor Place, Carlisle, also requested a background pre-sentence report. In the case of both defendants, the Probation Service will consider whether the men pose a future risk of danger to the public.

Recorder Blakey told the defendants, who appeared before the court via a video link from their prison: “Brian Lamb and Bernard Broughton, you have pleaded guilty to serious offences.”

For the aggravated burglary offence, he said, a lengthy custodial sentence was “inevitable”.

He adjourned the case until July 26, remanding both men in custody in the meantime. The judge added: “The pre-sentence report will assist in deciding the length of the sentence to be imposed.

“It will also look at what risk you are to the general public.”

Both defendants thanked the judge as the case concluded.