Men jailed for West Yorkshire and Lancashire bank raids
- Published
Two men have been jailed for their parts in three bank robberies in which more than £500,000 was stolen.
Lee Tansey, 33 of Pegwell Drive, Salford, pleaded guilty to three armed robberies and was jailed for 11 years.
Rickton Mark Henry, 31, of Merridge Walk, Salford, pleaded guilty to one armed robbery and was sentenced to eight years and eight months.
Leeds Crown Court heard the men used machetes and sledgehammers in the West Yorkshire and Lancashire robberies.
Tansey was convicted for his role in three robberies committed between 2008 and 2009.
Machete threat
He admitted robbing LloydsTSB in Darwen, Lancashire, LloydsTSB in Elland, West Yorkshire and HSBC in Marsh, Huddersfield.
Henry admitted his role in the Huddersfield robbery.
The court heard that on 5 June 2008 three men, including Tansey, smashed the front door of LloydsTSB on Duckworth Street, Darwen.
Two men carrying a crow bar and sledgehammer threatened staff and demanded the safe be opened while a third man collected money containers.
Henry and Tansey admitted their parts in the three armed robberies
The three then made off in a stolen Audi with £42,870 cash
On 18 June 2009 Tansey was involved in another incident when cash was being delivered to LloydsTSB, Southgate, Elland.
Three masked men carrying a machete, sledgehammer and crowbar demanded the delivery man open one of the cash boxes.
He did so after being threatened and threw the £25,000 contents at the offenders.
One of the men also stole £150,000 from a cash store room.
The third incident happened in June 2009 involving Tansey, Henry and a third man.
CCTV showed the men walking into HSBC on Westbourne Road, Marsh, carrying a machete, sledgehammer and crow bar.
They forced their way into the staff section of the bank and emptied the tills of money and safe taking more than £306,000 in cash before driving away from the scene.
'No concern'
Officers from Greater Manchester Police pursued the men who drove to the multi-storey car park at the Arndale Centre before fleeing into the shopping centre and out of sight.
Tansey and Henry were later arrested at Liverpool Airport after they were extradited from Spain on European arrest warrants.
Det Insp Warren Stevenson, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "These men, armed with potentially lethal weapons, forced their way into banks and stole cash for their own benefits.
"They showed no concern for the workers who were trying to go about their business when they threatened them with violence if they didn't hand over cash."
The police said the other men involved in the same three incidents had either been sentenced previously or had not been identified.