Four Robbers Caught After Squeezing On Motorbike

An armed gang who tried to rob a village Post Office and then fled on the back of one motorbike were caught by police less than 10 minutes later.

The masked men gave up their attempted raid - caught on CCTV - after 30 seconds as staff refused to hand over any cash.

Ashley Mullen, 24, Jack McNeil, 23, Cy Sedgeman, 22, and Michael Nugent, 18, were jailed for a total of 14 years and eight months for their failed robbery in Pill, Somerset, on 5 January.

The gang had squeezed onto the back of the stolen Honda bike and then rode to the busy premises at 12.30pm, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Three of them, including one brandishing a meat cleaver and another a screwdriver, burst in shouting "give me your money" before pushing over a display stand.

One threw packets of chewing gum at workers who had kept their tills closed, the court was told.

Customers in the shop included a pensioner and a grandmother with her six-year-old granddaughter - and police described the offence as "frightening" for them.

The gang then all jumped back on the motorbike ridden by Sedgeman as they tried to get away.

They dumped it nearby and ran to a waiting Vauxhall Astra. Police began pursuing the vehicle after an officer spotted clothes being thrown out of the window.

Mullen and McNeil, of no fixed abode, and Sedgeman and Nugent, of Laurence Weston, Bristol, were arrested at the scene and quickly admitted their guilt.

Judge Michael Roach jailed each of the men for three years and eight months for charges of attempted robbery and aggravated vehicle taking of the motorbike.

He said: "They arrived at the Post Office by means of a motorbike, the four of them having ridden it.

"Once inside the shop premises one of the three turned a stand with items for sale over.

"There was a great deal of shouting. Two of the robbers pushed past a grandmother, while one stood at the shop door.

"That person had a meat cleaver in his possession. Although this lasted no more than half a minute to a minute in time, it was obviously terrifying."

The judge praised shop workers for displaying "considerable courage" by refusing to give in to the men's demands.

"They told the defendants to leave," the judge said. "Ultimately they did, their attempted robbery utterly unsuccessful.

"They left on the motorbike ridden by one of them and made good their escape.

"It wasn't a sophisticated plan to rob this Post Office but it was plainly pre-planned."