A burglar has been jailed for 20 months after a court heard about the devastating impact of his crime on a family.

Carlisle man Grant Michael Cleminson, 25, escaped with cash and alcohol during his afternoon raid on an isolated farm-house at Matterdale End, near Penrith, on November 4, the city's crown court heard.

He admitted both that burglary and burgling the Brucciani's newsagents in Scotch Street, Carlisle, on October 17.

Andy Scott, prosecuting, described how the woman whose home was burgled had noticed a young man - later confirmed to be the defendant - leaning against a fence near her home as she left the house on the Saturday of the raid.

It was 4.40pm.

When she returned home half an hour later, she discovered that a window of the house had been smashed and the property had been burgled.

The intruder had searched several rooms, including bedrooms.

Police found the defendant with some of the stolen goods a short distance away some 45 minutes later, said Mr Scott.

The barrister then read aloud the victim's impact statement.

In it, the woman said: "It was a huge shock to my whole family that this has happened.

"It is a quiet village, and nothing like this has happened her before. It was my 17-year-old daughter who discovered what happened.

"This frightened her.

"Also, my nine year old son was really frightened.

“He didn't want to go back to the house, or stay her last night because of what happened. He's scared to be alone in the house.

"For the whole family, it's frightening that someone has come into our house, and gone through our private things.

"The most frightening thing was that a knife had been removed from the kitchen to our bedroom.

"It will be very difficult to forget this."

The court also heard about how the defendant and another man burgled the Brucianis newsagents in Scotch Street, Carlisle.

He was brought to justice after his housemate discovered the proceeds of that raid - sweets and vapes - hidden in the fridge of at the house they both shared in Carlisle.

The man spoke to staff at the newsagents, confirming that those were among the items stolen, and then he contacted police. He contacted police again after finding two stolen bikes hidden in a cupboard under the stairs at their house.

The defendant, of no fixed abode, also admitted handling stolen goods.

His lawyer, Mark Shepherd, said the defendant's life had gone into a downward spiral after a failed relationship. He had also suffered mental health problems, said Mr Shepherd.

"Chaos reigns supreme in his life," said the lawyer, adding: "He’s ended up drinking a great deal."

Passing sentence, Recorder Michael Murray commented that the situation could have been very different for all concerned had the householder returned while the burglary was happening.

“There is no sign of any kind of remorse,” commented the judge.

He imposed 16 months jail for the house burglary and four months consecutive for the raid on the newsagents.