Two men who prompted an armed police response after holding up a car and robbing the occupants of their mobile phones have been jailed.

Leon Bunn, 30, of Doria Drive in Gravesend, and Christian Dogbo, 27, of Railway Street in Northfleet, targeted a man and a woman as they sat in a red Toyota in a car park in Dene Holm Road in Gravesend on June 7.

They appeared at Maidstone Crown Court having been found guilty of robbery at an earlier hearing and were jailed for six and five years in prison respectively.

Bunn and Dogbo's victims had stopped to have something to eat at around 7.15pm on the evening of the incident and were approached by Dogbo, who was wearing a balaclava.

He threatened them both and demanded they hand over their phones, but as they tried to drive away, they were blocked off by a white van driven by Bunn.

Dogbo smashed one of the windows and grabbed one of the phones before getting into the van and fleeing the scene alongside his accomplice.

What followed was a large armed police response, with police cars and ambulance vehicles spotted in Dene Holm Road, as well as Doria Drive and Freeman Road, both in Gravesend, as officers searched for suspects.

One resident of Doria Drive said she saw eight police officers, two of them armed, as well as a helicopter circling above the area.

The vehicle was found by police less than an hour later after the insurance was traced to Bunn, and officers found cannabis, a balaclava and discarded clothes with Dogbo's DNA on them at his home. They were both arrested and are now behind bars.

Investigating officer DC Michael Champion said: "Both Bunn and Dogbo went to extraordinary lengths to rob two unsuspecting people of their mobile phones while they were just going about their business.

"This level of violence and threatening behaviour will not be tolerated and this investigation and sentencing shows we will do all we can to bring those who commit these crimes to justice."