Gang members jailed after Carlisle security van robbery

Last updated at 14:15, Monday, 17 May 2010

Two members of a gang of robbers who raided a security van in the heart of a Carlisle estate were today jailed for a total of nearly 15 years.

Video: CCTV of the raid and high speed police chase through Carlisle

Alan Roberts, 25, and Steven Hender, 23, were sentenced for their part in a dramatic heist on Central Avenue, Harraby - three days after an accomplice was imprisoned for his role in the crime.

Roberts and Hender, both from Liverpool, were part of a mob who stole £370,000 in a raid last November that prompted a police chase through the streets of the city.

Lee Hickman, 24, of Grovehurst Avenue, Liverpool, was jailed on Friday at Preston Crown Court for 15 years for his part in both this crime and another in Longton, Lancashire.

The sentencing of his two accomplices in the Cumbrian raid was adjourned until today.

In a brief hearing this morning, Roberts, of Lisburn Lane, was jailed for seven years, Hender, of Barkiss Close, was sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment.

Both had pleaded guilty to robbery in relation to the Carlisle raid.

Hickman had also admitted conspiracy to rob in relation to a crime in Longton carried out in June last year.

In the Carlisle robbery, the thieves wore Halloween masks and wielded crow bars when they raided the van outside a Co-op store.

One of the guards was hurt, but not seriously injured.

The gang struck just after 9am, frightening parents returning from the school run as some of the thugs made their escape in a getaway car.

Roberts did not manage to get into a getaway car. He was arrested nearby.

A getaway car was later found abandoned in countryside after the police chase.

The court heard on Friday that Hickman and Hender were arrested nearby.

Most of the cash in the Carlisle robbery was recovered.

Last week the police chief who led the case, Detective Chief Inspector Jason Hudson, said the men picked the wrong city when they targeted Carlisle, and paid tribute to the community spirit in Cumbria.

First published at 12:53, Monday, 17 May 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk