A pair of brothers who burgled a Gateshead pub thought they'd gotten away with it – until they ran into builders working on the renovations.

Michael and Christopher McIlwee, 34 and 32, walked into The Nine Pins on January 7 for a drink.

When they realised the pub was closed, they decided to help themselves anyway.

Michael went looking behind the bar where he found a worker's bag containing £200 – £300 worth of tools, South Tyneside Magistrates' Court heard.

The light-fingered brothers also snatched two bottles of wine and the pub's tip jar.

But as they were leaving they encountered a group of builders working on renovations to the building.

When they realised the brothers were making off with their tools, they delivered what a defence lawyer called "local justice", pummelling the thieves so hard they ended up in hospital.

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"The builders realise what they have got and take the bag back off them, and there's a little bit of local justice and the gap in time before they are arrested is because the police had to take both lads to hospital," Tom Iceton, defending Christopher, told the court.

Christopher was left with a broken nose while Michael needed medical treatment for an injured thumb.

After they were attended to by hospital staff they were both arrested.

Michael admitted one count of burglary of a non-dwelling and was jailed for eight weeks last month. Christopher was given a 12-month community order on Wednesday after pleading guilty to the same charge.

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The court heard Christopher has 29 prior convictions for 62 offences.

Mr Iceton said he was out drinking with Michael to celebrate his brother's recent release from prison when the burglary occurred, which he claims was Michael's idea.

• Crime
• Pubs

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