Pair jailed after knife-point robberies

Samuel Jonathan Langley, 29, formerly of Chatsworth Drive, Hucknall, was locked up for nine years and four months after pleading guilty to two charges of robbery and possession of a blade while committing the offences.

Nathan Dean Ford, 26, formerly of Moor Street, Mansfield, was jailed for six years and six months after pleading guilty to charges of robbery, theft and perverting the course of justice.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that Langley and Ford entered the Tipple and Tape off-licence, in Annesley Road, at 5.55pm on May 7.

Langley was carrying a knife as they forced their way around the counter, threatening two female workers, before taking £1,000 from the till.

A local businessman, who was alerted to the robbery, entered the store and challenged Langley and Ford but they ran away. He was publicly commended by the judge for his brave actions.

Langley robbed the Pepper’s convenience store on Watnall Road on April 26. He waved a knife in the direction of a female worker before leaving with a quantity of cash.

The court heard that Ford perverted the course of justice by providing false details to police after being detained for a theft at Sainsbury’s on Waverley Road on May 30.

Speaking after the pair’s sentencing, DC Mark Dickson, the officer in the case, said: “Langley and Ford carried out these robberies at knife-point, putting female shop workers in extreme fear of violence.

“I hope their significant prison sentences send a clear message that we will do everything in our power to protect the public from this sort of offending and bring offenders to justice.”