Phone-bullet robber found guilty

Darren Prior was praised by a judge for his "consummate courage"

A man has been convicted of robbing a jewellery shop and then shooting the manager, who survived when the bullet hit his mobile phone.

Sean Henry, 35, of Douglas Close, Wallington, south London, stole £50,000 of diamond rings from Amore Jewellers, in Horsham, West Sussex, in 2005.

Shop manager Darren Prior, 25, was shot as he gave chase, but the bullet hit a mobile phone in his suit jacket pocket.

Henry was found guilty of attempted murder, robbery and possessing a gun.

The robbery took place in the Sussex market town on the afternoon of 22 September, 2005.

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Henry entered the shop and ordered staff inside to hand over cash and jewellery.

One man was threatened with being shot in the leg unless he opened a display cabinet before Henry had finished counting down from 10.

Timothy Cole (left) drove a getaway car for Sean Henry

Mr Prior told a trial at Hove Crown Court how the gunman turned and shot him during a chase that followed through the streets and side alleys of Horsham town centre.

"I was about three-quarters of the way into an alleyway... I felt a shot and an impact on my right-hand side.

"I opened my jacket and looked at my shirt. There wasn't any blood. I looked into my pocket and realised that it had hit my mobile phone."

Mr Prior continued giving chase until Henry made his escape in a getaway car driven by his accomplice, Timothy Cole, 30, of Squirrel Close, Langley Green, Crawley, West Sussex.

Cole was also convicted of robbery on Thursday.

Both men are due to be sentenced at the court on 28 June.

Henry was identified as a suspect through CCTV footage shown on the BBC's Crimewatch programme following the robbery.

Some people have said how brave I was Darren Prior

A prison officer said she had recognised him as an inmate at a jail where she once worked.

The court was told Henry was previously convicted of murder in 1990.

Mr Prior said he was glad the case had come to an end and he could begin putting the experience behind him.

"I'm relieved they've found them guilty," he said

"Some people have said how brave I was but my family have said how stupid [I was].

"But they've all said they are glad there was no harm done to me."

The trial was told the shot could have proved fatal had it not been for Mr Prior's "remarkable" stroke of luck.