TWO West Cumbrian men have been jailed following a burglary in Workington - in which cash and bank cards were stolen from a 'vulnerable victim'.

Joshua Nicholson, 28, of Grasmoor Road, Salterbeck, was sentenced to 41 months in prison for burglary and resisting arrest.

Ricky Rayson, aged 36, of Arlecdon Road, Frizington was sentenced to seven months in prison for handling stolen goods.

Both were also given 10-year restraining orders preventing them from contacting the victim in any shape or form.

On May 24 police received a call reporting a burglary at a residential property in Workington. The victim reported that in the early hours of the morning her living room window had been on the latch and she had seen a man start to open the window and climb in.

When asked what he was doing, the man then disappeared from sight.

The victim then heard a knock at the door, and while she was walking to the door, someone had climbed into her window and stolen her handbag with £500 inside, along with bank cards.

Police attended the address and noticed a footprint inside the living room and fingerprints on the ledge of the window.

CCTV was obtained which showed Nicholson and Rayson fleeing from the address.

Both were arrested. During the arrest of Nicholson he violently resisted arrest, resulting in a member of the public assisting officers to detain him.

DC Simon Quinn said: “Nicholson and Rayson took advantage of a vulnerable victim for their own gain.

“Burglary offences will not be tolerated and those that engage in these activities will face a police investigation and prosecution.

“Crime of this nature – where someone enters your home address and steals your belongings – can have a devastating impact on a victim and preventing and bringing burglars to justice remains a priority for Cumbria Constabulary.

“I would also like to thank the member of the public who assisted officers so that they could safely arrest Nicholson.”

We would like to remind people to remain vigilant to burglaries and report and suspicious persons or activity to police via our online reporting form, live chat or 101 or if a crime is occurring on 999.

Investigating and preventing burglary is being subject to enquiries under Cumbria Police's Operation Themis.