Two men have been jailed for a cash-in-transit robbery where a security guard was threatened with a machete.
Maidstone Crown Court heard how a security guard was collecting the weekend’s takings from a petrol garage in the small Kent town of Snodland in September last year when he was confronted by a man in a balaclava and carrying a machete.
This man - later identified as Peter Henderson, 36, of Farmway, Dagenham - threatened the guard, who threw the case at his feet and hid behind his van.
Henderson made off with the cash through a gap in the fence and left in a van driven by Christopher Downey, 25, of no fixed address.
Police later found the van, which had been stolen a month earlier and had false number plates on, parked in a nearby garage block and the empty case nearby. The cash has never been recovered.
Henderson and Downey both pleaded guilty to robbery, handling stolen property and possession of a bladed article in a public place.
Yesterday (Thursday), Henderson was jailed for eight years and three months and Downey for eight years.
Det Insp James Derham said: “This was a carefully planned crime that netted a considerable amount of cash.
“A thorough investigation including the meticulous examination of CCTV footage allowed us to track down the offenders and ensure they were brought to justice.
“Henderson and Downey showed no regard for the impact their actions would have on the security guard and it is right that they are now serving a lengthy prison sentence.”
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