Armed robber gets life

An armed robber who threatened a jewellery shop assistant with a gun in Mansfield has been jailed for life.

Carl Smith, 32, of Moore Road in Mapperley, pleaded guilty to robbing Stuart's Jewellers in Regent Street in Mansfield last May.

Over £5,000 pounds worth of jewellery was stolen to fund his drug habit.

Nottingham Crown Court heard he was eligible for an automatic life sentence because of a previous conviction for serious violence.

Smith was told that gun crimes were viewed as particularly serious in the current climate and long sentences would be passed to deter others.

He also admitted other offences of robbery and blackmail.

He will serve eight and a half years before he can be considered for parole.