Watch: Armed robbery gang raided businesses and terrorised staff across Black Country and Birmingham

The masked robbers stormed businesses, including arcades and a travel agents, inside operating hours on five separate occasions, whilst armed with hammers and knives.

The gang would threaten and use violence against staff before demanding cash, making off with thousands on pounds each time.

They first struck on November 20, 2022, at Shipley's arcade on West Bromwich High Street.

At around 10.20am, three masked men wielding hammers and knives stormed the business, threatening customers and staff and demanding safes and cash machines were opened.

One member of staff at the arcade was said to have been grabbed by the throat, whilst another had what he believed was a knife pressed into his back.

The gang fled with thousands of pounds.

Then on December 2, three men entered Buzz Bingo on Kingsbury Road in Erdington, Birmingham.

Again armed with hammers and knives, the robbers threatened staff and customers, rounding them up into one area and demanding they open the safe.

When staff were unable to open the safe, the manager was attacked before the gang fled in a stolen car with money from a cash machine.

The robbers struck a third time on December 20, at Cashino on Bull Street in Birmingham city centre.

Staff at the business were again threatened by three armed men who held them hostage inside for an hour whilst waiting for a safe's timer lock to expire, before fleeing with cash in the same stolen car.

In a statement issued to West Midlands Police after the Cashino robbery, one victim said: "I wake up in the night seeing the male that grabbed me.

"I have only been out the house on my own three times since the incident and each time was a nightmare, I became really panicky each time I saw someone with a hood up. This has completely taken away my confidence."

The gang then targeted Co-op Travel on Union Street, Wednesbury, on April 22, 2023.

They stole thousands of pounds and fled the scene in a stolen Ford Focus.

They later struck on June 9 at Cash Converters on Hawthorn Road in Kingstanding, Birmingham, when they were armed with knives and an axe as they stole takings.

The gang was caught following a major investigation by West Midlands Police as part of Operation Target, which sees the force crack down on serious and organised crime in the region.

They were arrested on July 19, 2023 after police had compiled witness evidence, CCTV footage, and the movements of mobile phones and cars.

Aaron Day, aged 36 and of Charles Avenue, Rowley Regis; Liam Bell, aged 28 and of Monmouth Drive, West Bromwich; Jordell Duquesney, aged 26 and of Spies Lane, Halesowen; and Richard Gray, aged 42, of Holliday Street, Birmingham, all admitted conspiracy to rob.

Day and Duquesney were arrested at Day’s home. At the time, police found Duquesney sitting on a large black coat, with a balaclava and gloves stuffed into the sleeve.

Meanwhile, Day was sitting on a bucket hat containing a balaclava and a pair of gloves. In the living room and hidden behind a radiator, police discovered sets of number plates with double sided tape on them.

On Tuesday(jan 9) at Birmingham Crown Court, Day, Bell and Duquesney were each jailed for 14 years. Gray was jailed for 12 years and nine months.

DC John Marsh, from the West Midlands Police Major Crime Proactive Unit, said: "This was an appalling series of robberies, with violence used and threatened against people going about their business.

"The CCTV shows how weapons were brandished and people were held hostage and marched around and as the gang stole from businesses around the region.

"It’s had a lasting impact on these victims, who were left terrified but thankfully not seriously injured.

"This was a major investigation incorporating a whole host of techniques, which has resulted in these dangerous men being behind bars."