Jail for pair over robberies at Midlands bookies

Two men who took part in a string of violent robberies on betting shops in Sandwell and Birmingham have been sentenced to a total of 14 years in jail.

More than £5,000 was stolen in four raids on bookmakers – all Ladbrokes shops – between May 2011 and January this year.

Shops on Wood Lane in West Bromwich and Coventry Road and Hagley Road in Birmingham were targeted during the attacks.

Richard Jarrett, aged 35 and of Ball Street, Oldbury and Derek Batson, 34 of Gough Road, Edgbaston, pleaded guilty to four and one counts of robbery respectively, receiving sentences of nine and five years.

The first raid took place on May 31 when £3,564 was taken from a safe at Ladbrokes on Wood Lane, as well as £250 from the till, by three hooded and masked men.

In the second robbery, on Coventry Road, Birmingham, 61-year-old Jean Jones was thrown to the floor and dragged to the safe, suffering a hip injury.

The third raid saw £500 taken from the Ladbrokes till on Hagley Road, while in the fourth – again at Wood Lane – £300 was stolen.

Batson had written a letter to the presiding judge at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Amjad Nawaz, expressing his remorse.

The pair were told they would serve half their terms.