Caught on CCTV: Dudley pair jailed over terrifying shop raid
This is the moment a trio of masked men burst into a petrol station shop, leaving two women shop assistants in fear for their lives.
One of the raiders, 26-year-old Ashley Fay, from Dudley, leapt on to the counter armed with a claw hammer and shouted repeatedly for the location of a safe.
One of the women suffered a broken arm when she was pushed to the floor by Fay as she tried to escape, while Shrewsbury Crown Court was told the other woman thought the men were going to kill her.
Fay and one of his accomplices, 36-year-old Stephen Dale, from Tipton, were today starting jail sentences after admitting their roles in the robbery at the shop at the Wheatland petrol station in Much Wenlock, Shropshire.
Dale, who was not in possession of a hammer, also jumped over the counter during the raid, which happened at about 9.40pm on September 27, 2014.
Another man, who has not been identified, was also brandishing a hammer.
The men took £466.03 in cash and £293.67 worth of cigarettes.
Mr Charles Crinion, prosecuting, said while they were taking the items the two workers attempted to run, only for Fay to run after them and push one of them to the floor before they could reach the exit. Mr Crinion told the court that the woman who suffered the broken arm required surgery which has left her without the full range of movement.
The court was told that the pair had been identified when police found Dale's finger prints on a roll of black bags discovered in a stolen VW Golf used in the robbery.
Police also found a glove, with DNA which matched Fay, in the car.
Fay, of Hillside Road, Pensnett, was jailed for 59 months on Tuesday. Dale, of Bernard Road, was jailed for 44 months.
Fay was said to have a number of previous convictions for car theft and burglary.
Recorder Nigel Daly also heard that Dale has 37 convictions for 78 offences, including one where he stole a bag off a person while riding as the passenger on a motor scooter.
Mr Graham Arnold, for Fay and Dale, said that both men were now looking to turn their lives around.
He described Fay as remorseful and Dale as someone who wants to start his life again.
Sentencing, Recorder Daly said: "It was obviously frightening to the two ladies who were there. One was pushed over by Mr Fay, and she suffered quite a bad injury to her shoulder."
He added: "It seems that you, Mr Fay did most of the violence and had the hammer but you were both in it together."
