Three Morecambe men jailed for total of 40 years after armed robberies

Dean Halliwell, 29, and Andrew Kelly, 33, both of Westminster Road, Morecambe, as well as Alan White, 41, of Euston Road, Morecambe, were sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday May 8.

The trio were arrested earlier this year following three armed robberies in February.

In the first incident, two masked men carrying a gun and hammer entered the Betfred bookmakers in Euston Road at around 9pm on February 14,

The pair threatened staff members taking cash from the till and safe before making off from the scene.

Then, at 6.50pm on February 17, two masked men entered the Supersaver store in Alexandra Road.

One of the men was carrying a gun and the pair threatened a staff member, taking cash from the till.

Two days later, at around 9pm, two men raided the Vittles store in Green Street.

The pair were wearing masks, with one of the men carrying a hand gun. One of the offenders pointed a gun to a staff member’s head while taking cash from the till. The second man took a quantity of cigarettes.

Police quickly launched a major investigation linking the three crimes.

Halliwell, White and Kelly were later arrested with evidence recovered linking them to the robberies.

They were later charged, with Halliwell admitting to the Betfred and Supersavers robberies, White to the offences at Betfred and Vittles and Kelly pleading guilty to the Supersavers raid.

Halliwell and White were jailed for 15 years, with Kelly sentenced to eight years in prison.

Det Insp Kathryn Riley, of Lancashire Police, said: “We welcome these sentences which reflect the gravity of the offenders’ actions.

“These were shocking robberies, with workers threatened with weapons, including a gun and hammer. It is only luck no-one was seriously hurt.

“These crimes caused fear and panic for people living in Morecambe and I must thank those members of the public who assisted our investigation, as well as the police officers who supported the inquiry, for their assistance.

“These convictions act as a reminder to anyone wanting to carry out such crimes – we will find you, we will arrest you and you will be jailed.”