Two thieves have been jailed for stealing Yorkshire stone from the Saltaire World Heritage Site.

Glen Wilson, 33, of Dibb Lane, Yeadon, and Christopher Gwilliams, 33, of Crag Road, Windhill, Shipley, also received prison sentences for the theft of stone from a property belonging to the Church.

The pair, who had admitted the theft charges at previous hearings, were sentenced at Bingley Magistrates Court yesterday.

Yvonne Tunnicliffe, prosecuting, said a guard called the police at 11.30pm on June 30 after spotting men in a car near Bradford District Care Trust's premises at New Mill, Victoria Road, in Saltaire. The model mill village was designated a World Heritage Site last December.

Miss Tunnicliffe said the car was stopped by police while driving out of the complex and found to be "heavily laden'' with 13 flag stones valued at £400 which had been removed from a car park.

Wilson and Gwilliams were arrested and admitted the theft when interviewed by police.

Miss Tunnicliffe said on August 3 - while the pair were on bail for the first offence - a member of the public raised the alarm after seeing the men lifting stones, valued at £200, into a Ford Escort from a property owned by the Bradford Diocese on Hall Road, Bradford. She said police gave chase, finally detaining the men using CS spray, when they stopped and fled on foot.

Chris Dunford, mitigating, said the stone had been recovered, and the pair had admitted the offences. He said the thefts were motivated by the need to finance the men's drug use.

Both had been drug-free since going into custody and hoped to remain so following their release, he told the court.

Jobless Wilson and Gwilliams, a paint sprayer, were jailed for 40 days for each offence with the sentences to run concurrently.

Jailing them, presiding magistrate Peter Brunskill said both had previous convictions for theft and only custodial sentences were appropriate.

He added: "The second offence was committed while you were on bail.

"It appears to be an organised crime of the sort which is prevalent in this area.

"These offences are serious and very unpleasant and there's a high degree of public disapproval for them.''