Bank raid gang jailed

Five members of an armed gang have been jailed for an attack on a Telford bank in which they escaped with £425,000.

A sledgehammer was hurled through a window at the Lloyds TSB branch in Dawley before the raiders climbed into the bank. The masked robbers - all from Salford, Manchester - snatched bags and boxes containing the money during the raid in September last year.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday David Dargan, 24, and Gregory Burke, 25, were both given indefinite prison sentences for public protection.

Both must serve a minimum of five years before being considered for parole. Both have previous convictions for robbery and when released they will be on licence for life.

The three other gang members, Colin Farrell, 27, Brian Moran, 24, and Paul Fielding, 24, were all jailed for eight years.

All the defendants admitted conspiracy to rob betw- een June 1 and September 6 last year. Judge Sybil Thom- as said the robbery was professional and meticulously planned and the two bank cashiers were absolutely terrified. "You knew the time to arrive when there were only two employees at the bank and had carried out a dry run in advance."

Stephen Bacon, prosecuting, said the robbery happened at about 9.20am on September 5 as two women cashiers were filling up the cashpoint machine.

A black VW Golf driven by Burke was seen outside the bank as four masked men got out and a sledgehammer was thrown through a window. In the bank, they snatc- hed the cash from an open safe and the unlocked ATM machine. The raid lasted less than two minutes.

Counsel for the defendants suggested their clients had said the raid was planned by others and they had been recruited a short time beforehand.

None of the £425,000 has been recovered and applications under the Proceeds of Crime Act have been made against all five defendants, which will be heard this year.

Detective Inspector Steve Tonks, of Telford Police, who led the investigation, today said he was pleased with the "significant" sentences.