A pair of violent criminals threatened to steal their victim’s child before kicking him in the stomach and punching him in the face.

The two men have been jailed for a total of more than 10 years after the burglary in Folkestone on October 18 last year.

In the incident, the pair broke into a flat in Earls Avenue and proceeded to demand money.

Perpetrators Darren Griffin, from Folkestone, and Jack Mayers, from Hythe, took off with cash and jewellery after battering the male home-owner, and threatening to take one of his children.

Two days after the break-in, Mayers, 28, was arrested, and police caught up with 30-year-old Griffin the following month.

Griffin, formerly of Rendezvous Street in the town, admitted burglary and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was jailed for six years at Canterbury Crown Court on June 22.

Mayers, formerly of Springfield Way in Hythe, also admitted aggravated burglary and was jailed for five years at the same court hearing.

Detective Constable Alice Henham said: “We are determined to tackle violent crime and take offenders off the streets by bringing them before the courts.

“This offence would have been extremely upsetting for the victim and his family, and I hope the quick conclusion of this investigation and the sentences now imposed give them some comfort.”