Burglar stabbed man with broken glass after smashing window at family home.

The brave victim had punched raider Ross Clancy when he stuck his head through a hole he made in the glass at the family home in Boldon Colliery.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the 32-year-old intruder retaliated by using a shard of glass from the broken pane to stab him in the hand, causing two cuts that were steri-stripped at hospital.

Prosecutor Rachel Masters told the court the victim had been in bed when Clancy started smashing the window on January 22 but got up to assist his wife when he realised the house was under attack.

Miss Masters said: "He saw the defendant leaning through the front window and heard him shout 'give me £30 and I will go'.

"The complainant said he didn't have any money.

"He then said 'give me your car keys' and then leaned in an took a wallet from the window sill and a purse.

"The complainant contends, at the time the defendant was leaning through the window, he punched him to try and scare him.

"The defendant then picked up a shard of glass from the broken window and used it to stab his hand, causing two cuts."

Miss Masters added: "Inspections revealed a plant pot was used to smash the window."

The injured householder said in a victim statement: "This incident has made me feel awful.

"My wife has been left petrified in her own house.

"The incident lasted a number of minutes, probably around ten."

Clancy, of Warwick Avenue, Sunderland, pleaded guilty to burglary and unlawful wounding in relation to the attack.

The raid was around an hour before he robbed a worker at the Dhaka Tandoori and stole a customer's car keys before attempting to steal a vehicle outside the takeaway.

He pleaded guilty to robbery, attempted theft and theft in relation to the stand-off, where he claimed to have a knife, while a young child was in shop.

He also admitted two charges of burglary at his girlfriend's parents' home, where he took a total of £6,500 in cash during the three day crime "spree", which was fuelled by his use of drugs.

Clancy also bit a police officer during a struggle to try and get hold of his baton after he was arrested and pleaded guilty to assault.

Judge Tim Gittins sentenced Clancy to a total of eight years and ten months behind bars.

The judge told him: "You broke the window and you leaned in through that window in an effort to take a wallet and a purse that were on the window sill.

"The householder, quite properly, sought to defend himself, his wife, and his property by punching you.

"Your reaction was uncalled for and excessive, you picked up a shard of glass and you stabbed it into his hand, causing a couple of cuts."

Judge Gittins said Clancy, who has a criminal record, poses "a significant risk of harm to the public" if there is a chance he could take more drugs.

Vic Laffey, defending, said Clancy has recently become a father and has stayed away from drugs since his remand in custody, where he has achieved certificates

for his positive behaviour.

Mr Laffey said at the time of the offences Clancy had been self medicating with prescription drugs to try and wean himself off his long-term habit, which he has now achieved.

Mr Laffey added: "He is in an environment where, if he wanted drugs, they are available to him.

"The difference between getting drugs where he is now and getting drugs when he was at liberty is he doesn't have as far to walk."

Mr Laffey said around £3,000 of the cash stolen from Clancy's girlfriend's parents was recovered by the police.