Two heartless burglars have been jailed after stealing more than £8,500 of cigarettes and lager from a village store while the owner's family cried with fear in the flat above.

Antony Allen, 34, and Daniel Griffin, 27, raided the Lyminge Food and Wine Store in Canterbury Road, Folkestone, in June last year.

They used a crowbar and an axe to smash their way into the shop at 3am before swiping the store's entire cigarette stock and four cans of lager.

The owner, who lives in the flat above the shop, was woken up by the sound of broken glass and the men's footsteps. He shouted at them to leave before dialing 999.

The court heard his four children had cried in fear while the raid was being carried out.

An hour after the burglary, police stopped the men and were told they had been on a fishing trip despite having no kit and different packs of branded cigarettes.

Officers arrested and interviewed the men and charged them three months later after a forensic study examining the glass fragments on their clothes and shoes.

Allen, of Badlesmere Close, pleaded guilty to burglary before magistrates in December but Griffin of Jack Dunbar Close failed to attend court.

Prosecutor Edmund Burge said: "The total value of the cigarettes were £8,540 effectively clearing the entire store.

"There was £186 worth of damage to the door and a full pack of lager costing £5. All in all there was nearly £9,000 of damage to the store owner.

"they (the burglary victims) were woken up by the sound of breaking glass and footsteps. they were described as crying loudly with fear" – judge heather norton

"They were stopped in Ashford an hour later by an officer who had heard about the burglary. They said they had been fishing although they had no kit.

"They were arrested after the officer saw they had two packs of cigarettes with different brands.

Julian Blake, defending Allen, said his client suffered from a heroin and crack cocaine addiction but was determined to get his life back on track with the impending birth of his son in March.

He said: "He is at the stage of his life where he can go two ways.

"He has entered a voluntary programme to help him from using drugs and is making good progress."

Nicolas Maggs, defending Griffin, said his client had apologised for a poor excuse for missing his court appearance explaining he was juggling several job interviews at the time.

Both defence lawyers argued the burglary was a commercial one but Judge Heather Norton said the family in the flat above made it an aggravating factor.

She sentenced the two men to 21 months in prison but gave Griffin an extra month for missing his court appearance.

She said: "They were woken up by the sound of breaking glass and footsteps. They were described as crying loudly with fear. That is the risk you took when you committed the burglary."