JAILED: Pair caught red-handed after Oldbury cash box robbery and police chase

The security guard was rugby tackled by Theodore Mullings-Fairweather, who then grabbed the cash box and made off in a getaway car.

But, less than 30 minutes after the robbery outside Tesco Express in Bristnall Hall Road, Oldbury, officers traced the 25-year-old and William Mooney, 26, to a Ladywood industrial estate.

As the police helicopter circled overhead the pair sped off in a Peugeot and were pursued by police car.

The Peugeot crashed and the pair abandoning the car to roll dangerously down a road. Only the swift actions of an officer, who jumped behind the wheel and pulled on the handbrake, stopped it causing more damage or injury.

"The robbers fled the scene, but in doing so left behind plenty of evidence for us to find out who they were and link them to the robbery," said investigating officer Detective Constable Rob Clarke, of the incident which occurred on July 18 last year.

"The rental agreement for the Peugeot with Mooney's name on was left inside as were keys to a BMW which was later linked to Mullings-Fairweather.

"Two mobile phones were also seized from the Peugeot, which proved contact between Mullings-Fairweather and Mooney, and showed Mullings-Fairweather being at the location of the robbery when it happened.

"We believe Mullings-Fairweather drove to York Place, Edgbaston, where he abandoned the getaway car and met up with Mooney before driving to the industrial estate."

Mooney was arrested three days later but Mullings-Fairweather, a former semi-professional footballer with a taste for the high life, had been laying low in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Birmingham. Officers arrested him in a toilet cubicle at the hotel on August 21.

The pair denied the offence but were found guilty of robbery. And at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday Mullings-Fairweather, from Dawlish Road in Selly Oak, was sentenced to eight years in prison, while Mooney, from Gorsly Piece in Quinton, was handed a six-year sentence.

Mullings-Fairweather was jailed for an additional eight years for an unrelated assault at a Brindley Place bar, taking his total prison term to 16 years.

Det Con Clarke said: "Cash in transit robberies aren't victimless crimes against big organisations ? they have a huge impact on the cash delivery drivers involved who are simply trying to earn a living.

"This case shows that crime really doesn't pay: despite trying to get into the cash box with an angle-grinder, Mullings-Fairweather and Mooney didn't get away with any money and are now facing lengthy sentences.

"We hope the terms handed to them, which reflect the serious nature of their offences, also act as a deterrent to others, showing cash in transit robberies are not an easy target."

Mooney was also convicted of dangerous driving, while Mullings-Fairweather admitted two counts of using dye-stained money in betting machines in April and July last year.

He was caught on CCTV inserting notes into Ladbrokes gaming machines that were later traced to two separate cash box thefts, but there was no evidence linking him to the actual robberies.