Gang jailed after 'L' car pursuit

They were finally caught in West Yorkshire after a police chase

A driving instructor told a learner to pursue a gang of armed robbers after spotting them escaping from a Blackburn jewellery shop, a court has heard.

Three Birmingham men and a teenager admitted attacking the 31-year-old jeweller with a hammer and were jailed at Preston Crown Court.

The instructor gave police a running commentary on his mobile phone as the learner followed the robbers' car.

Police eventually arrested the gang on the motorway after they crashed.

A fifth gang member is to be sentenced later.

The raid took place last October last year at Rahman' s Jewellers off Whalley New Road, Blackburn.

The gang fled with valuables in a black Audi, leaving the shop owner with head injuries, a laceration to his face and cuts to his hands.

The defendants had equipped themselves with weapons and were prepared to use them, subjecting the shop owner and his wife to a terrifying ordeal Susan Riley, Crown Prosecution Service

His wife, who was also in the shop at the time was badly shaken but was not injured.

The driving instructor and his student were able to keep police informed of the gang's movements as far as the motorway junction.

Asad Mohammed, 25, of Newton Road, Sparkhill, was sentenced to four years eight months for one charge of robbery.

Mohammed Nasir Khan, 19, of Walford Road, Tyseley, received three years four months.

Adnan Ahmed, 21, of Baker Street, Sparkhill, was sentenced to three years for robbery and one charge of dangerous driving.

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been sentenced to three years in detention.

Another member of the gang, Shah Hussain, 29, of Lichfield Road, was found guilty of robbery after a three-day trial and will be sentenced on 23 July.

Susan Riley, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in Blackburn said: "The defendants had equipped themselves with weapons and were prepared to use them, subjecting the shop owner and his wife to a terrifying ordeal.

"They went to considerable lengths to escape arrest, driving the getaway vehicle dangerously and endangering other road users."