A judge has told two burglars that if they choose to raid a home where the householders legally own a gun they should accept the risk of being shot.

Judge Michael Pert QC made his remarks as he jailed Joshua O'Gorman and Daniel Mansell for four years at Leicester crown court after they were blasted by Andy Ferrie's shotgun while attempting to burgle his farm cottage in Welby, near Melton Mowbray, in the early hours of 2 September.

Rejecting a plea that he take into account the shooting, which injured and allegedly "traumatised" the defendants, the judge said: "That is the chance you take."

O'Gorman, who was shot in the face, and Mansell, who was hit in his right hand, had pleaded guilty to the break-in at an earlier hearing.

Alan Murphy, prosecuting, said they had a string of convictions between them.

The judge said: "I make it plain that, in my judgment, being shot is not mitigation. If you burgle a house in the country where the householder owns a legally held shotgun, that is the chance you take. You cannot come to court and ask for a lighter sentence because of it."

He was responding to a mitigation plea from Andrew Frymann, representing O'Gorman, who said being shot was for his client akin to a "near-death experience" for which he was not prepared.

Responding to the suggestion that O'Gorman was traumatised, Pert said the Ferries' arrest on suspicion of grievous bodily harm could be considered just as disturbing.

"Some might argue that being arrested and locked up for 40 hours is a trauma," he said.

Ferrie, 35, and his wife, Tracey, 43, were held in custody for nearly two days after he called police to tell them he fired his shotgun at the intruders.

Their arrests prompted widespread criticism. The couple were later bailed and told they would not face criminal charges.

Mansell, 33, and O'Gorman, 27, both from Leicester but with no fixed addresses, appeared in the court dock showing physical evidence of the confrontation.

A scar was clearly visible on the right side of O'Gorman's face and Mansell had his arm in a sling.

Opening the case for the crown, Murphy said the Ferries, who were not in court because they are out of the country, went to bed at their isolated farm cottage as normal on the evening of 1 September.

Mr Ferrie shot the burglars after discovering them downstairs and seeing one of them about to reach into a kitchen drawer that held a number of knives.

"As a result of that, Mr Ferrie fired his shotgun. Mr O'Gorman was hit in his face, Mr Mansell in his hand. The burglars fled without actually being able to steal anything."

The court heard that Mr Ferrie immediately called police to tell them what had happened and found himself subsequently arrested.

Police began searching for the intruders and alerted Leicester Royal Infirmary to see if anybody had presented themselves with shotgun injuries, Murphy said.

At around 2am, O'Gorman arrived at the hospital with shotgun pellets in his face and was arrested by officers. Mansell arrived a few hours later, at around 7am, with pellet wounds to his right hand and was also detained by police.

Both were on licence at the time of the offence.