Two burglars broke into a store with crowbars and then one of them attacked a police officer while they tried to escape.

Patrols near the Morrisons Daily in The Row, New Ash Green, were called there last Friday (November 22) after a 999 call to the ongoing incident.

Officers arrived at the store at around 2.30am where Callum Knox and Damien Smith were found.

Knox and Smith had made an earlier attempt to enter the back of the store using crowbars at around 1.40am and had returned a second time to enter via the front door.

They attempted to take cigarettes from a locked cabinet.

Patrols arrived moments after the incident was reported and arrested the offenders.

Knox assaulted a constable with a crowbar in an attempt to evade capture and the officer was taken to hospital for treatment to their injuries.

Knox, 38, of Avon Road, Southampton, Hampshire, and Smith, 44, of Bullar Road, Southampton, Hampshire, were charged with burglary and admitted the crime at Medway Magistrates’ Court on November 23.

Knox also pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker.

Both men are due to appear before Maidstone Crown Court for a sentencing hearing at a date yet to be confirmed.

Investigating officer DC Joanna Slevin said: “Knox and Smith acted without care and caused considerable damage to the premises in their efforts to gain entry and steal from the business.

“Furthermore, Knox demonstrated a propensity for violence after striking a police officer with a crowbar in a bid to evade detention.

“I hope the swift justice achieved by Kent Police serves as yet another reminder to would-be perpetrators that crime does not pay.”