A TEAM of burglars crashed through a window as they tried to escape police and had to be taken to hospital, a court was told.

The pair landed on top of each other as they tried to make their getaway from the Conservative Club, in Baltic Road, Stockton, Teesside.

Lee Fiddess suffered a broken ankle while his accomplice, Patrick McCarthy, had cuts.

Yesterday, the two men, both of Princess Avenue, Stockton, appeared before Teesside Crown Court and admitted burglary.

Fiddess, 30, was jailed for two years, plus 49 days of a previous sentence.

McCarthy, 32, was also jailed for two years, plus 47 days of a previous sentence.

The judge, Mr Recorder Paul Worsley, QC, told them: "Your record of offending shows you operate as a team, not a very successful one, but as a team. You were seeking to repeat what you had done in the past."

Greg Purcell, prosecuting, said that Fiddess and McCarthy had been drinking in the club the evening before the burglary and had disabled the alarm system to allow them to break in during the early hours of the morning. Inside, they tried to steal money from gaming machines.

But when the police arrived Fiddess and McCarthy tried to escape by smashing a window at the back of the club. They both suffered cuts and were taken to hospital.

Stephen Constantine, for Fiddess, said that for the best part of a year his client had kept out of trouble before the burglary. He became involved because he was inebriated.

Peter Sabiston, for McCarthy, said his client had the ability to keep out of trouble. He feared that if he went to prison again his family would disintegrate.