A man who forced terrified staff at an Ashton-under-Lyne Co-op to fill baskets with stolen goods while threatening them with a machete was jailed yesterday for five years.
Daniel Hamilton, 24, of Pottinger Street, Ashton-under-Lyne admitted robbery and possessing an offensive weapon.
Meanwhile, getaway driver Mark Peter Simms, 31, of Qual Street, Oldham, admitted robbery, disqualified driving and driving without insurance.
Both men were sentenced to five years in prison with Sims also handed an extended period of four years on licence upon his release after the robbery on March 6 at the King’s Road store.
At around 10.10pm, Hamilton armed with a large machete and another man stole cash from the till and made staff fill shopping baskets with a large quantity of cigarettes before they fled in a waiting red Subaru Impreza, driven by Simms.
The car was later found abandoned on Ravensbury Street, Clayton after colliding with a white transit van.
Detective Constable Joe Harrop, from the Tameside Organised Crime Team, said: “We had a fantastic response from the public following the robbery and I want to thank them as the information provided greatly helped our investigation.
“Hamilton wielded a large and intimidating machete that he did not think twice about using to threaten people in the shop that day and I can’t begin to imagine the fear that would have been instilled in them.
“This has been a complex investigation – with extensive forensic work linking both suspects to the vehicle and complex analysis of phone data linking them to the offence – but thankfully, due to the efforts of the Organised Crime Team at Tameside, we have been able to provide every person in the shop that day as well as the wider community the best reassurance possible by bringing these two to justice.”
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