Man jailed for a raid on an Oswestry shop loses appeal

Carl Cowans forced a terrified shopkeeper at the Boozed Up store, in Salop Road, to hand over £450 cash and packets of cigarettes in November last year.

The 36-year-old, of Garth Owen, Newtown, Powys, was later jailed for 21 months at Shrewsbury Crown Court after being found guilty of robbery.

He was cleared of possessing a bladed article in a public place.

On Thursday Cowans tried to have his conviction overturned at the Court of Appeal, in London, with his lawyers arguing it was "unsafe".

They said there was not enough evidence he was responsible for the robbery and argued the jury's verdicts were "inconsistent".

But his complaints were rejected by three of the country's most senior judges, who said the different verdicts on each charge could be explained.

The court heard shopkeeper Harkamal Dhillion was in the store at about 9pm on November 21 last year when a man wearing a hooded top entered.

The man stole Mr Dhillion's wallet before demanding more cash from the till and cigarettes - including a packet of Lambert and Butler.

A short while later a police officer saw Cowans in nearby Chaucer Road.

He was "out of breath and acting in an excited manner" and had a wallet bulging with about £450 cash and a packet of the same brand of cigarettes as were stolen during the raid.

Cowans was also identified by Mr Dhillion as the man who had robbed him.

Dismissing his appeal, Lord Justice Bean said it was possible that members of the "thoughtful" jury were certain Cowans was the hooded robber, but not convinced he had a knife.

Sitting with Mr Justice Spencer and Mr Justice Gilbart, he said: "We infer from the jury's verdicts that they had a doubt about whether a knife had been used, but no doubt that Mr Dhillion had been robbed.

"It seems to us a possible conclusion of a reasonable jury that Mr Dhillion was utterly terrified by this attacker who had come into his shop wearing a hooded top, demanded cash and frightened him into handing over £450 and some cigarettes."

The judge concluded: "We do not think that this is a case of logically inconsistent verdicts."