Armed robber jailed for raids on shops and betting shop

Brazenly bursting into shops and a bookies, he waved the weapons in the faces of frightened staff who feared they were going to be stabbed as he demanded cash from safes and ripped tills from counters to get cash.

Such was the severity of his two day crime spree it left residents and shopkeepers fearing where he might strike next and had a lasting impact on the community of Thornhill, Southampton Crown Court heard.

But today Sid Pumford is back at the only home he knows – prison – after being handed a sentence spanning 19 years for his crimes.

The career criminal was the ringleader of the daring raids in which he threatened shop workers, leapt across counters and even cut one woman’s arm with an eight-inch blade.

He enlisted the help of his “naïve and immature” girlfriend Charlotte Brown who acted as his “lookout”

and tried to help cover his tracks as well as exchanging some of the stolen coins for notes within hours of the first robbery.

The court heard how the brutal robberies began just before 6.30am on April 5 this year when Pumford, wearing a hoody and covering his face, ran into Costa Coffee at Antelope Park in Bursledon Road as a lone woman prepared to open up for the day.

CCTV footage, which can be seen on the Daily Echo’s website, shows her terror as he frogmarches her at knifepoint and ordered “take me to the safe now”.

Crying and fearing she was going to be knifed, the woman began loading the money into his carrier bag as Pumford menacingly told her “don’t press any panic button or I will stab you”.

The court heard how he then forced her to open the till and helped himself to cash before he ran off with a total of £740, telling her “you can phone the police when I’m gone”.

Police were alerted to the robbery when the girl activated a panic button but it was to be the start of a frightening crime spree that left police across the city hunting Pumford and even resulted in an armed stand-off in a busy city road.

It was two days later, at exactly the same time, that the 31-year-old struck again in Newsmarket in Thornhill Park Road.

Brandishing a meat cleaver, Pumford and an accomplice, who was carrying a large knife but cannot be identified for legal reasons, burst into the shop as a woman in her 60s and her manager were opening up and preparing newspapers for delivery.

Pumford ran down the main aisle waving the weapon at the manager and demanding he open and empty the safe. When he was told it could not be accessed as it was in the Post Office part of the store, a struggle ensued in which the manager was knocked to the ground, before Pumford, said to have been “in a rage” leapt over the counter and ripped the till from the counter.

The drama was heard by neighbours who heard banging and screaming and demands to “open the safe”.

Pumford fled with £150 but was chased by the store manager who then encountered Brown, 18.

Shortly after, he saw her at the door of a nearby property where she was ushering someone inside and he realised she was involved.

That evening Pumford struck a third time at Ladbrokes in Butts Road which was empty apart from one member of staff.

With a large kitchen knife in the air and his face covered, he leapt over the counter and ordered the man to “go empty the safe”.

But he wasn’t banking on the brave shop worker taking him on, grappling with him and then bundling him to the floor where he ripped his jacket and disguise from him while restraining him.

Moments later Pumford jumped back over the counter empty-handed, his face clearly visible on CCTV cameras and his distinctive white T-shirt on display, smashing a panel in the thenlocked door to make his escape.

Brazenly, he continued his spree and within hours he had struck again at Grande Wines having returned to Thornhill Park Road.

Inside, he waited closely behind another customer who is alleged to have been part of the plan but is awaiting trial, and pulled a knife on the lone female cashier as she opened the till, scratching her arm.

After pulling the till from the counter he turned and ran with up to £600 in takings.

Pumford’s criminal ways only came to an end on April 8 when, following a stand-off in Bitterne Road West involving numbers of armed police officers earlier in the day, he was eventually tracked down to a flat in St Mary’s and arrested.

Judge Derwin Hope told Pumford, who pleaded guilty to three robberies and one attempted robbery, that he was dangerous and posed a serious risk to the public, adding that his victims had suffered at his hands.

“All of them have suffered serious psychological damage and injury as a direct result of your actions, which had a significant impact on the whole local community of Thornhill and surrounding area,” he said to Pumford, who was crying in the dock.

He handed him 14 years in jail with a five-year extension on license, meaning he will be under the nose of authorities for 19 years.

Brown, also crying as she stood handcuffed, was told that she fully knew what she was doing by acting as lookout and changing the money and the consequences were “very serious”.

He said her “sad refusal to accept advice and guidance” had helped land her a two-year stretch in a young offenders institution.

IMPACT ON THE VICTIMS

THEIR lives were turned upside down and most needed medical help to deal with the trauma they endured.

The court heard how Sid Pumford’s victims are still feeling the lasting effects of the terrifying moment he carried out an armed robbery on their premises and each of their stories share a familiar line.

The Costa Coffee worker described the last few months as “a dark period in my life” in which she has not wanted to go back to work for fear it could happen again.

She is distrusting of people, gets scared and concerned if someone is walking behind her, and has suffered panic attacks and nightmares needing medication.

Once happy-go-lucky, she now barely goes out because she was left “completely petrified” and thinks she will be affected for many years.

The court was told how the woman at Newsmarket also suffered panic attacks, with severe pains in her chest and struggling to breathe. Against her children’s wishes she returned to work, determined that the robbers wouldn’t win.

Her manager was left feeling more anxious, less trusting and angry about the amount of damage and cost of repair that he was left with.

The Ladbrokes worker described having trouble sleeping - causing stress for him and in turn his family.

He used to do a lot of overtime at work and loved his job but now is on edge with sudden movements or seeing anyone walk in wearing a hoody, fearing another incident might happen.

The woman from Grande Wines told how she had worked there for 14 years but had to give up her job because she was terrified by what happened. She remains scared to go out at night in case someone pulls a knife on her. She too has sought help for panic attacks and described her life as being “turned upside down”.