Trio jailed for part in store raid

Buy photos» Waheed Zaman (s)

Rob George

02 December. Updated: 02 December 11:26

THREE men have been jailed for a total of 22 years for their part in a raid on a Droitwich Tesco Express store which saw goods and cash worth £18,000 stolen.

The robbery in 2008 also saw staff, including a heavily pregnant woman, and members of the public subjected to an horrific ordeal as they were tied up by the thieves.

Damien Carl Atkinson, 30, and Waheed Anthony Zaman, 31, both from Birmingham, were sentenced to eight years each on Tuesday (November 29) for their part in the raid.

They were found guilty of robbery following the trial Worcester Crown Court and, when released, they will have also have to spend an extra three years under licence from prison.

Mark Bannister, 36 of Birmingham Road, Redditch, was sentenced to six years in prison earlier this month after pleading guilty at the beginning of the trial.

Two other men - Ashley Pulisciano of Acocks Green, Birmingham, and Darren Damien Atkinson Nicholls of Shirley, Solihull, - were sentenced for the same offence after appearing in court in May 2009.

The court heard how in November 2008, Atkinson, Bannister and Nicholls laid in wait for staff to arrive at Tesco Express in Droitwich at around 5.30am.

They waited for the staff to open the store and followed them in, all with their faces covered and gloves on. Some were also armed with crowbars.

They rounded up the four members of staff and used cable ties to handcuff the three male workers.

During the robbery, two members of the public who were in the store were also handcuffed and forced to the floor.

The raiders made the heavily pregnant supervisor show them around the shop.

They initially targeted the cash safe, before turning their attentions to the cigarette safe, which was on a timer release.

Atkinson, Bannister, and Nicholls were prepared to wait for the safe to open and, in the meantime, cleared the cash float from the tills, forced open the cigarette kiosk and emptied the bottled spirits display.

They also stole batteries, razor blades and lottery scratchcards and used black plastic dustbins, duvet covers and wire shopping baskets to carry off the cash and goods, before fleeing in a stolen Audi A6 and another unidentified vehicle.

Det Con John Kerr of Worcester CID said: “Investigations continued after Pulisciano and Nicholls were jailed for this offence in 2009.

“It led our officers to Atkinson, Zaman and Bannister, who were arrested and charged around a year ago.

“Their sentences reflect the seriousness of an offence committed by career criminals that was a traumatic and distressing experience for their victims.

“The judge believed Zaman played a major role in co-ordinating the offence even though he wasn’t at the scene of the crime and, as such, he got just as lengthy a sentence as Atkinson,” he added.