Brothers jailed for year for burglaries

Lawyers for Patrick Douglas (29) and Stephen Douglas (26), both of Donegall Road, Belfast, had urged a judge not to jail them.

But Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland told the brothers: “Immediate custody is the only answer. There is no point putting off that day.”

The brothers will also spend a year on supervised licence and were each banned from driving for two years.

The defendants had both pleaded to guilty two counts of burglary, taking and driving away, making off without payment from a petrol station, no insurance and resisting police. Patrick Douglas admitted driving whilst disqualified.

Stephen Douglas has 59 previous convictions while Patrick Douglas has 76.