Dudley robbers locked up for more than 36 years after 'terrifying' armed raid at corner shop

They burst into the Super Stop shop in Priory Road, Dudley, armed with an axe, a long metal spirit level and a wooden stave on May 12, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

The spirit level was slammed down with such force by one of the masked raiders that it carved a three inch groove in the counter, revealed Mr Jonathan Barker, prosecuting.

Two other hooded members of the gang started loading a holdall with cigarettes and cash while also stealing bottles of alcohol.

The niece of the shop's owner - who was working at the store for a day and due to go on holiday - had her handbag snatched by one of the robbers. It was then thrown to Aiden Jenkins, the only robber not masked and acting as look out at the entrance to the store.

He riffled through the contents and removed her £1,000 holiday money and the key fob for her car, continued the prosecutor.

The gang escaped in a Citroen Picasso without number plates that was dumped in a car park close to Wellington Road, Dudley where some changed their clothes at an address.

They got into a taxi but this was surrounded by police cars - alerted by eye witnesses - before it could move, explained Mr Barker.

Arnold dropped the stolen car key fob as Pritchard tried to hide the cash taken during the raid. An ice axe, face coverings and gloves were found in a ruck sack. Alcohol and cigarettes taken in the robbery were also recovered, the court was told. The Picasso get-away car was discovered in Blackheath with three different sets of registration number plates.

The woman working in the shop later told police: "I felt scared for my own safety as a cowered in a corner and could feel my heart beating faster."

Mr John Evans, defending 21-year-old Brad Arnold, argued: "This was not a professionally planned commercial robbery. It was for short term gain." Miss Ciara McElvogue, representing Kyle Dingley, aged 19, said: "This was the single, worst mistake of his life."

Judge Simon Ward told the defendants: "You had a range of weapons and a planned exit in which you quickly changed clothes and got into a taxi. It almost worked but, luckily for justice, it did not."

Father of one Arnold from Beechwood Road, Kates Hill and Dingley of Victoria Road, Cradley Heath both admitted robbery and possession of a bladed article. The former was jailed for six years nine months while the latter received an identical term of detention.

Aiden Jenkins, 20, from Hilary Drive, Warstones and Lee Pritchard, 24, of Gloucester Road, Netherton were both convicted of the two offences after trial. They were sentenced to seven years detention and ten years jail respectively.