Terrifying moment woman is threatened at gunpoint during armed robbery at Bargain Booze
Michael Harkins and Ashley Peter Wright jailed for 10 years for a string of armed robberies
HARROWING footage shows the moment an armed robber screams "get on the floor or I'll shoot" at a terrified Bargain Booze cashier.
Michael Harkins and Ashley Peter Wright have both been jailed for 10 years for a string of armed robberies at off licences and shops over eight days in 2015.
CCTV footage of the first robbery, carried out by Harkins, 37, at a Bargain Booze in Bredbury, Greater Manchester, shows him pointing a silver handgun at a cowering staff member.
He repeatedly shouts at her to open the till while the terrified victim pleads with him not to hurt her.
Harkins made off with the shops takings of about £1,800 and even stole the cashier's handbag, which contained about £105.
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On the same day Harkins and accomplice Wright, 34, carried out two more robberies.
In almost all of the crimes Harkins entered the shops first pretending to be a customer and checked out how many people were inside.
He then left, returning with Wright to threaten shopkeepers with a handgun and a meat cleaver.
During a robbery at a store in Shaw Heath, Stockport, a brave shopkeeper fought back grabbing a metal bar from behind the counter and launching himself at the men.
Wright and Harkins viciously assaulted the victim rugby tackling him to the ground and striking him repeatedly until a gash opened on his head.
The two men then fled with £100 cash and £100 of cigarettes.
Just 10 hours after the brutal attack the pair struck again at an off licence in Romiley, this time armed with cable ties as well as the handgun.
They tied the victim's hands together and stole cash, alcohol and cigarettes to the value of about £228.
The following evening they subjected two more women to a terrifying robbery, entering a Bargain Booze at about 8.20pm, tying one of the women up and forcing her to the floor.
While one of the men loaded cigarettes and alcohol into a black bag, the other forced one of the female staff members into a back room and demanded she open the safe.
They stole £400 in coins and ran out, where they were spotted by a man walking by.
The witness said "you've robbed the shop" and followed Harkins and Wright to a car.
One of the offenders pointed a gun at him and told him they would shoot if he did not walk away.
But the witness stood his ground and calmly stated the registration number of the offenders' car over and over until they got in and drove off.
Once Harkins and Wright had escaped, the witness went into the shop to help the two victims.
The pair were arrested following a dramatic car chase.
During the chase Wright drove his vehicle directly at the police van, colliding with the front of it, but was pushed by the police vehicle against a wall to prevent the pair from escaping.
Detective Inspector Gina Brennand, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "Harkins and Wright were ruthless, robbing four shops in eight days and subjecting five victims to terrifying ordeals in the process.
"One of the victims was left with serious head injuries after he bravely fought to defend himself and his property, Wright and Harkins showed no mercy during their brutal assault.
"In the end it was discovered that the gun they were using to threaten these victims was a pellet gun, but it was realistic enough to be completely convincing for the terrified shopkeepers to think they were facing a real firearm.
"They caused significant emotional and physical harm, all for the sake of a few hundred pounds, and are fully deserving of the jail sentence they received today."
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