A GANG of robbers armed with sledgehammers stole more than £100,000 from a security van in Hampshire, a court heard.

Escaped prisoner Jason Colliver and three other men targeted a Group 4 vehicle that was delivering cash to the Halifax bank in Station Road, New Milton.

Colliver was jailed for 17 years after he admitted his part in the raid and several other crimes.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that Colliver had absconded from Ford Open Prison in Sussex after serving half of a ten-year sentence for conspiracy to rob.

Four months after going on the run he joined a three-man gang that was shadowing security guards delivering cash to banks.

The robbers escaped with £102,000 in the New Milton raid – two weeks after snatching £32,000 from a bank in Ramsgate, Kent. The sums stolen were not made public at the time.

Colliver, 30, of north London, was the gang’s getaway driver, the court was told.

Prosecutor Christopher May said: “Colliver, together with others, was involved in organised, planned and professional robberies of security guards delivering large sums of cash during the autumn of 2008.”

The robbers were about to commit a third raid when they were detained by police, who had seen Colliver commit a motoring offence.

Mr May added: “The gang was shadowing a security van as it made its round in Thanet. They were looking for the right moment to execute the robbery. Instead, they were caught by police.”

Emma Goodall, defending, said he walked out because some of his fellow inmates were being moved to higher category prisons and he feared he was next. He returned to a life of crime after failing to find a job.

Colliver admitted two robberies, conspiracy to rob and burglary and was jailed for a total of 17 years, including 14 years for the New Milton raid.

The judge, Adele Williams, said he should serve at least eight-and-a-half years before being considered for parole.

She added: “No firearms or imitation firearms were used in these robberies and no serious physical harm caused, but the use of sledgehammers in their execution gave rise to the risk of serious harm.

“In addition the trauma, fear and shock of being robbed in circumstances such as these creates the risk of serious psychological harm.”