TWO burglars have been told to expect a jail sentence after admitting raiding the home of the Dean of York.

David Michael Oliver, 39, and Andrew Robert Winspear, 40, broke into the Deanery in Minster Court near the Treasurer’s House earlier this month.

The pair, who both pleaded guilty to burglary when they appeared before York Crown Court this week, had broken into a back door to the Deanery and grabbed two watches and a laptop.

The Dean of York, the Very Rev Keith Jones, caught the pair in the act when he returned home at 5.35pm on April 11, and they fled the scene in an attempt to evade police.

But they were arrested nearby minutes later, one by a police community support officer and one by a member of York Minster’s private police force.

They were found in possession of the stolen goods.

The defendants, both of no fixed address, spoke only to enter their guilty plea at the preliminary hearing yesterday.

They have both been remanded in custody until their sentencing next month.

The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, heard an apologetic statement from Oliver, read to the court, who said he would like to offer his “extreme apologies to the Dean and those involved in the matters”.

He said to the pair: “The fact that both of you pleaded guilty to this serious offence is something that will count in your favour.

“But both of you should know custodial sentences are on the cards.”