TWO men who staged a bogus armed robbery at Halfords stealing nearly £5,000 in cash from the store's safe have been jailed.

Liam Moore and Christian Harvey acted out a knifepoint raid at the store in Southampton Road, Salisbury, in 2013.

The pair both knew the store well. Harvey was a member of staff and Moore had previously worked there for about five years.

Harvey, now 25, told police he had been opening up when he was approached by a person wearing a crash helmet and brandishing a knife.

He said he had been frogmarched through the store to the office and forced to open the safe, handing over thousands of pounds in bags to the robber whom he described as having had an Eastern European accent.

Prosecutor Kerry Maylin said a "major investigation" had been launched and Harvey had initially been treated as a vulnerable witness, being taken to the police station to be interviewed.

Salisbury Journal:

It was later found to have been "a total charade for the cameras" and an "inside job". The pair had met in places such as a car park and The Chapel nightclub to discuss the plot.

Ms Maylin said: "The store was covered with closed circuit television, that was viewed.

"It was a bogus robbery. The area manager who had come to check on the welfare of staff on the day recognised the gait and stance [of Moore on CCTV]."

In total, £4,740 was stolen but £1,300 was later recovered when a member of public discovered one of the bags of cash.

Sentencing the pair yesterday at Winchester Crown Court, Judge Andrew Barnett said the crime was an "extremely serious offence" because it involved a "cunning and devious plan".

He said: "In the early hours of December 19, 2013 you met outside Halfords and embarked on what can only be described as a cunning charade, pretending that a knifepoint robbery was going on, where you, Moore, held a knife to your former fellow worker Harvey."

He added: "This was in breach of a high degree of trust. Both of you had used your inside information to gain access to the property and to overcome the various security aspects of the premises to thieve from your employer or ex-employer.

"It must be crystal clear that this sort of criminality is not to be tolerated."

Salisbury Journal:

Mitigating for Moore, Charles Parry said the 31-year-old had unrelated previous convictions and suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome and depression, adding he had pleaded guilty to theft at the earliest opportunity.

Mitigating for Harvey, Adam Pearson said the father-of one was a "working man" who had no previous convictions, adding that he had not been the instigator but had been persuaded to take part, looking up to Moore as a mentor when they worked together.

Harvey was convicted of theft on September 28 after a three-day trial.

Both defendants were initially charged with conspiracy to steal but this was dropped when the prosecution offered no evidence.

Judge Barnett sentenced Harvey of Durrington, to 18 months in prison and Moore of St Helen's, Merseyside, to 12 months in prison.

No order for compensation was made.