A LITTLE girl cowered in her bedroom as men broke into her home, a court heard.
The eight-year-old and her mother were asleep in their Marsh home when they were woken by men banging on the door and trying to break in.
Two men appeared in court yesterday accused of the aggravated burglary at the terraced property on St James’ Road.
Jordan Patten, 18, of Avison Road, Cowlersley, and Ashley Hirst, 22, of Church View House, Paddock, were before magistrates in Huddersfield.
They deny the charge and are due to stand trial at Bradford Crown Court.
Carole Lawford, prosecuting, said the victim awoke just after 3am to the sound of loud banging.
The woman lived in the two-bedroom mid-terrace house alone with her daughter, in the quiet residential area.
Ms Lawford said: “She was woken up by the sound of loud banging, got out of bed and realises that it’s her back door.
“She opens the internal kitchen door and sees a face pressed up against it.
“She shouts ‘get away’ and could no longer see the face’.”
Magistrates were told that just as the victim thought that the male had gone he reappeared, again banging hard on the door.
Ms Lawford said that fearing for the safety of herself and her daughter she fled back upstairs.
She said: “In a panic she goes upstairs to her daughter’s bedroom, she finds her cowered under the bed covers.
“She told her ‘we need to get out of the house’ and as they left through the front door they could still hear them trying to get in.”
Ms Lawford said that neighbours had witnessed the men trying to break in and called police.
When officers arrived the victim saw that the bottom panel of the door had been forced through to gain entry into the house.
She found her mobile phone had been taken and there was a black-handled kitchen knife on the floor that didn’t belong to her.
Police later arrested Patten and Hirst.
A third man is currently on police bail pending further inquiries.
The two men will first appear before the crown court on February 1. They were remanded in custody until then.
