Grandmother faced chainsaw raid gang

A four-strong masked gang armed with a chainsaw and knife raided a Black Country convenience store, a court heard.

The robbery came late in the evening when a 56-year-old grandmother was alone behind the counter of the Co-op shop in Bloxwich. Theresa Allen was pushed out of the way as she desperately tried to reach the panic alarm of the store in Turnberry Road.

She had worked there for 18 years, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Mr Howard Searle said one raider leapt on the counter as another cut into the ATM cash machine with the chainsaw.

The gang struck at 9.45pm on March 27.

They ransacked one till that was empty but took £100 from another while threatening Mrs Allen and her 16-year-old grandson who was in the shop at the time.

The gang gave up trying to break into the cash machine and fled in a car stolen earlier in Cambridgeshire, the court heard.

They headed to a flat in Short Heath, Willenhall, where they dumped the gloves, masks and scarves used to shield their faces during the raid.

Police were quickly alerted and spotted the robbers leaving the flat to get into another vehicle in which they were arrested when it was stopped soon afterwards. A knife was hidden inside. Their discarded clothes were found in the flat along with a receipt from the shop that had been snatched from the till along with the cash.

The stolen £25,000 VW R32 getaway car was discovered in a nearby garage, concluded Mr Searle.

Mrs Allen later told detectives: "I was shaken and frightened," while her grandson admitted: "I felt useless because I wanted to help her but could not."

Wayne Thomas, aged 25, of Wychbold Crescent, Stechford; Kevin Clarke, 33, from The Shardway, Shard End; Christopher Price, 25, of Newbridge Road, Yardley, and Terry McMahon, 27, of Clopton Road, Sheldon, all admitted robbery. Each had previous convictions for dishonesty and had served custodial sentences, the court heard.

Mr Andrew Jackson, defending Thomas, said: "This was an unacceptable and unpleasant offence that will inevitably end in jail."

Judge Nicholas Webb was due to pass sentence this afternoon.