TWO masked intruders smashed their way into a Cowdenbeath home when a couple were inside in an attempt to steal a car.

The car owner was punched repeatedly when he refused to hand over the keys in the shocking incident in Broad Street.

The pair then stole a woman’s handbag and car keys and drove away in her car, which was later abandoned in Dunfermline.

One of the masked raiders, 31-year-old Stephen Gray, was also involved in a previous crime when he broke into the home of an 82-year-old woman, only to flee when she shouted at him.

Gray, a prisoner at Perth, appeared by video-link at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.

He admitted that on January 23, 2019, he broke into a house owned by an 82-year-old woman in Markinch, with intent to steal.

He also admitted that on March 10 this year, whilst acting with another person and with their faces masked, he forced entry into a house in Broad Street, Cowdenbeath, and assaulted a man by punching him repeatedly on the head, threatened him with violence and stole a handbag containing documents, a bank card, watch, mobile phone, set of keys and a car.

Depute fiscal Claire Bremner said that in the first incident, the 82-year-old woman was wakened by a noise from her living room at around 2am.

She got up and found a man standing in the living room standing next to a window.

She shouted “Oi” and he ran off and climbed out of the window.

Gray’s fingerprints were later found in the house.

In the second incident, a couple were at home when they heard male voices at the door.

They were asking the woman to move her car as it was blocking other vehicles but she ignored them as she knew it wasn’t.

They then heard loud banging on the door which sounded like it was being kicked in.

The door was put in and two masked men burst in, demanding the keys to the man’s car, a white Mercedes Benz parked outside.

He refused to hand over the keys and was punched by the smaller intruder, not Gray.

This smaller man also threatened to “plug” or stab the man.

When they failed to get the keys, they stole the woman’s handbag containing her bank cards, passport and other items.

They then took the keys to the woman’s car and the man ran after them as they tried to steal it. He was punched again before they disappeared in the car.

The car was later found abandoned in Linburn Road, Dunfermline.

The two thieves then called a taxi to take them back to Cowdenbeath. During the journey, the taxi driver heard the smaller man repeatedly calling his companion “Paul”.

However, Gray had said to him: “Why are you calling me Paul, my name’s Stevie?”

Gray later tried to use the woman’s bank card in Cowdenbeath but it had already been cancelled by her. When she heard an attempt had been made to use it, she contacted the police and they viewed CCTV from the ATM, which identified Gray.

Defence solicitor Alexander Flett said his client had been living with a female in Cowdenbeath at the time.

He had been misusing drugs which “spiralled out of control” and saw him using crack cocaine at the time of the first incident.

He had entered the woman’s home “by mistake”. The sheriff asked what he meant by that.

“That wasn’t the house he intended to enter. She wasn’t targeted,” said Mr Flett.

On the second incident, the solicitor said: “He wasn’t the brains of the operation as can be seen by his comments in the taxi that his name was Stevie.”

Sheriff Gilchrist jailed Gray for 28 months.