Bungling brothers jailed after theft - of ripped £5 note

The pair were "ripped off" when one of them made a grab for cash in the till at the same time as a quick thinking assistant - and lost the tug of war, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

But the robbery still cost half brothers Gareth Donnelly and Barry Millward dear when they were jailed for a total of five-and-a-half years.

Staff were immediately suspicious after the duo walked into Apple Green Services, also known as Tamebridge Services, in Bridge Street, Wednesbury, on September 9, said Mr Christopher O'Gorman, prosecuting.

The woman behind the counter carried on serving other customers until the two men were the only ones left inside the shop.

Millward, aged 36, was standing by the entrance and told his brother 'just buy some chocolate,' continued the prosecutor. Donnelly did as he was told and proffered a £1 coin as payment for the confectionary.

As soon as the till was opened to get his change the 35-year-old made a lunge for the cash inside, the court heard.

Mr O'Gorman continued: "As he made a grab for the money the female assistant instinctively pushed it further into the till."

Then a customer who had just left the store noticed the disturbance and returned to throw a drinks can at Millward, hitting him on the head. The "short-changed" raiders then fled with their haul of a half a five pound note, concluded Mr O'Gorman.

The woman assistant later told police Donnelly had grabbed her hand during the bungled bid to snatch the money but did not injure her.

Both men had a long list of previous convictions, it was said. Millward's included robbery, burglary, blackmail, theft and assault.

Mr Zaheer Afzal, defending, explained that the father of four had been blighted by Class A drug addiction for years despite unsuccessful attempts at rehabilitation.

Donnelly from Dale Terrace, Tividale and Millward of Trafalgar Court, Birmingham New Road, Tividale, both admitted robbery and were each jailed for two and half years.

Judge Michael Challinor said: "Robbery is always a serious offence but this falls into the lowest category. There was minimal force used and minimal harm done."

Millward received a consecutive six month sentence for breaking the terms of his bail by failing to attend a hearing of the case without reasonable excuse.

The judge told him: "This must have cost taxpayers thousands of pounds. I was then told you had lied and police were unable to trace you until a warrant was issued for your arrest. This was a cynical manipulation of the justice system."