TWO men who robbed a young Weymouth couple in their home have been jailed for a total of 13 years.

Lee Andrew Furness and his girlfriend Fleur Wakefield were having dinner when Shane William Townsend and Keith Dennis Longhurst raided their home at Littlemoor.

Longhurst stabbed Miss Wakefield as she tried to escape before the two men fled with £400.

Townsend, 40, and Longhurst, 39, both formerly of Abbotsbury Road, Weymouth, were found guilty of a joint charge of robbery.

Jurors also found Longhurst guilty of wounding Miss Wakefield with a knife with intent to cause her grievous bodily harm.

Townsend was found guilty of possessing an imitation firearm in the robbery on December 10.

Judge John Harrow sentenced Townsend to six years and Longhurst to seven years at Bournemouth Crown Court.

He told both men they would serve at least that amount and will not be released ‘until they are considered safe to the community’.

He said: “You two are very dangerous men either acting individually or together.

“You forced your way into this couple’s house – you, Townsend, with an imitation handgun and you, Longhurst, with a knife.

“You were clearly prepared to perpetrate violence if the need arose and you, Longhurst, proved that to be the case.

“You brandished your weapons and terrorised the home of this young couple who were just sitting down to have their tea.”

Judge Harrow told how Miss Wakefield had tried to escape when Longhurst ‘acted very savagely with a knife by stabbing her in the abdomen’.

He added: “Doctors said it was life threatening and if she had not entered surgery and had antibiotics she might have died.”

During a 12 day stay in hospital Miss Wakefield spent two days in intensive care.

Judge Harrow told the two men they represented ‘a significant risk of harm to the public’ and that their offences ‘frighteningly represent an escalation from previous matters’.

He told the court how Townsend had previously attacked a taxi driver with a screwdriver and tried to strangle him with a rope and Longhurst had attacked a man and cut his wrists with a knife.

DC Steve Dodge, of Weymouth CID, said the sentencing reflected the severity of the attack.

He said: “These two people were at home in the safety of their own home when they were brutally attacked and Fleur was stabbed in the stomach.

“She received life-threatening injuries and only as a result of the excellent medical attention given by paramedics and staff at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester did she survive.

“As the court has heard Longhurst has previously been convicted of a similar offence a number of years ago. There is no doubt that all levels of society are safer with these two offenders locked up.”