Two armed robbers threatened to chop two police officers into bits when they robbed their home.

Colin Lindsay, 22, from Edinburgh, and Kevin Tully, 31, admitted entering the home of police officers Evan Finnegan and Kirsty Ramm, who was then 30 weeks pregnant.

They brandished knives and a knuckleduster, robbing them of jewellery, two iPods, two television sets, a soundbar, an Xbox, a laptop, four mobile telephones and a car key.

The armed robbery happened at the couple's Edinburgh home on February 12.

A trial heard Lindsay told the couple to stay calm and not do anything stupid.

He told them: "I'm going to chop you into bits. I've been told to come in here and chop you."

The couple were then taken upstairs to their bedroom, which had been ransacked, and told to wait in their en-suite bathroom for 45 minutes with the door locked.

When they emerged, the robbers had left.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Lindsay and Tully also admitted an armed robbery at 69-year-old couple Derek and Mary Laing's home in Currie, Edinburgh, the previous day.

They stole jewellery, a watch, a knuckleduster, two iPods, a knife, a set of playing cards, a sewing box and cash.

Both pensioners were assaulted by the criminals, who carried a machete and a length of wood.

Judge Lord Mulholland deferred sentence on both accused until next month and ordered an assessment of the risk they pose to the public.