Jailed: Duo locked up for a combined total of more than 20 years for robbing security guard with knife and gun

James Mansbridge , 41, and accomplice Paul Jones, 37, followed a security guard into Vanas Pharmacy and Post Office in Rectory Road, Pitsea, and threatened him with the weapons in front of terrified staff and customers.

The pair then stole the cash box containing tens of thousands of pounds from the guard.

A shot was also fired into the ceiling of the store during the robbery on December 17 last year. Fortunately nobody was injured.

Mansbridge and Jones fled in a Vauxhall Astra but were tracked to Romford within an hour and arrested, thanks to help from members of the public who told police about the car's movements.

The money was also recovered.

Mansbridge, 40, a car salesman of no fixed address, and Jones, unemployed, of Rothbury Avenue, Rainham, each admitted charges of robbery, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and possession of a firearm at a hearing last year.

Mansbridge was also charged with handling stolen goods following another armed robbery at Sainsbury’s in Bansons Lane, Ongar, on June 24, 2013.

Five suspects, one armed with what is believed to be a shotgun, confronted three night staff members, tied them up and locked them in a store room.

The pharmacy was sealed off after the attack

They stole items worth more than £62,000 including alcohol, tobacco, batteries and lottery scratch cards, and also took thousands of pounds.

The gang broke into the supermarket at 12.40am and left at about 2am, after which the staff managed to raise the alarm.

Acting on intelligence, both Essex Police and the Metropolitan Police executed a search warrant at a yard in Willoughby Drive, Rainham, on June 27, 2013.

They found the stolen items inside in a container, along with Sean Geary, 32, who was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

Mansbridge and Lee Cox, 33, unemployed, of Crescent Road, Dagenham were later also arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

They denied the charges but were convicted on Friday May 12, 2016 following a trial at Basildon Crown Court.

Geary, of no fixed address, admitted the charge at an earlier hearing.

Mansbridge, Jones, Cox and Geary appeared at Basildon Crown Court today, Friday, August 12, for sentence.

Mansbridge was jailed for 12 years and Jones was jailed for 10 years.

Cox was jailed for two-and-a-half years and Geary received a 12 months suspended sentence, both for handling stolen goods.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Sergeant Ben Gibson, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "I am pleased these Mansbridge and Jones have been handed lengthy custodial sentences, in particular Mansbridge, who played a role in both of these terrifying crimes.

"He and Jones were clearly willing to use the weapons they had on them when they entered the post office, which was busy with customers in the run up to Christmas.

"I would like to thank members of the Pitsea community for their assistance in apprehending them quickly and bringing them to justice.”