Sarah Ali, 32, (pictured) was jailed for 16 months after raiding a home in Stockton-on-Tees

A pair of female burglars with 129 previous convictions between them have been jailed for 22 months after they traumatised an elderly couple when they raided their home.

Sarah Ali, 32, and Claire Bell, 30, were caught red-handed after they targeted a home in Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham.

Ali was spotted in the ransacked garage and ran into a bathroom, climbed through a window and then escaped through the house.

But she was chased and captured down the road by the couple's grandson.

Meanwhile, the grandfather, who is in his 70s, spotted Bell over the road from his home.

She verbally abused him and swung a bottle of wine at him, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The grandson returned, stopped Bell leaving and restrained her as she took a swing at him too.

Arresting officers found a bag in a bush containing cordless drills and a power saw from the raided garage.

Presented with the evidence by police, Bell said she 'must have had more to drink than she thought'.

Ali and Bell, both of Stockton-on-Tees, admitted the burglary. Ali also admitted stealing a £64 bottle of Hugo Boss perfume from Debenhams on September 25.

The women had 129 previous offences between them.

Both were able to carry out the burglary because judges had given them suspended sentences - two in a row in Bell's case - this year.

Ali was caught with hundreds of pounds worth of pills stuffed in her bra, having apparently been beaten and 'coerced' by drug dealers.

She faced a possible minimum three-year sentence for her 'third strike' burglary.

Her barrister Stephen Constantine asked for an exception to be made in her case, saying she burgled the garage, never intended to go into the house itself and only did so fleeing a confrontation in fear.

He said she had a 'very turbulent life' - in care since she was 12, when she was introduced to heroin, and using drugs for the next decade, but with no burglaries since 2005.

Ali and Bell were jailed for 22 months between them at Teesside Crown Court (pictured)

Duncan McReddie, for Bell, said this was her first burglary, she acted as lookout and a 'secondary actor'.

He said she had been drinking heavily and was 'not in full possession of her faculties' at the time, having replaced heroin with alcohol as her drug of choice.

Mr McReddie added she was 'peripheral' in her recent crimes and showed poor judgment in choosing friends.

Now 12 weeks' pregnant, she wanted to come out of prison clean to have her baby and make a fresh start.

The judge, Recorder Toby Hedworth QC, agreed not to impose the three-year sentence in the 'exceptional circumstances' of Ali's case.

He jailed her for 16 months, saying he had to find a balance between her 'very difficult and damaged life' and the victims' 'terrifying experience'.

This is not the quality of life we should be enjoying in our time of life The elderly victim

He jailed Bell for six months.

The grandfather said his 'world fell apart' after the 'horrendous'ransacking of his garage.

In a statement read to the court, he said: 'This has been horrendous.

'I feel physically exhausted and mentally scarred and no longer feel safe in my own home.

'We're in our 70s. This is not the quality of life we should be enjoying in our time of life. We should be enjoying our freedom.'

He said he had only been able to take 'catnaps' since the burglary, taking a toll on everyday life.

He was left feeling nervous, having flashbacks and always checking doors and windows.

He added: 'It's frightening. We thought we had enough security with cameras and lights. Even this doesn't seem to be enough to keep people like this out.