Two Huddersfield men were part of a gang who beat and kicked a security guard outside a Shropshire store before escaping with £20,000 in cash, a court heard.

The robbers, wearing balaclavas and armed with a baton, attacked the guard as money for a cash machine was being at delivered to the shop earlier this year.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday Mohammed Maskeen and Raheel Ahmed, both 19, were sentenced to lengthy periods at a Young Offenders' Institution.

Nivyaan Maskeen
Nivyaan Maskeen

Maskeen's cousin, 30-year-old Rafaqat Hussain, had also been involved in the robbery at the One-Stop Shop in the Wellington area of Telford.

The two men had also twice threatened and robbed a taxi driver of more than £1,700 just a month after cash machine raid.

All three defendants had pleaded guilty to robbing G4S security guard Roy Holtschke on April 2 and Maskeen and Hussain had admitted robbing taxi driver Abdul Rahman in May this year.

At an earlier hearing at Leeds Crown Court Ahmed had pleaded guilty to the illegal importation of 20 stun guns and possession of a CS spray and a Class B drug at Huddersfield in December, 2011.

Maskeen, of Willow Lane, Birkby, who had been living in Regent Street, Wellington at the time of the robberies, was given consecutive sentences totalling nine years and four months.

Ahmed, of Norman Road, Birkby, was given consecutive sentences totalling six years.

Raheel Ahmed
Raheel Ahmed

Hussain, of Urban Gardens, Wellington, Shropshire, was given consecutive prison sentences totalling eight years and eight months.

Judge Robin Onions said it was unclear whose idea it was to rob the security van, but dealt with it as a joint enterprise.

"You all deliberately planned to carry out this raid and there is no distinction between who was the driver and who used the force or who stood by," he said.

He said they had worn balaclavas and a baton had been used on the security guard who was only protected from blows to the head by his helmet.

The court heard that Mr Holtschke was also kicked and punched and forced to the ground leaving him with injuries to his body and arms.

Maskeen had been on bail at a relative's address in Wellington at the time and he and Hussain had recruited Ahmed to be involved in the armed raid.

Rafaqat Hussain
Rafaqat Hussain

A Skoda car, hired and driven by Hussain was used in the raid 8.30pm raid and it was later seen on CCTV stopping at petrol stations and driving towards Manchester city centre where four men - including Hussain - got out and entered a massage parlour at 4am.   

Mr Paul Spratt, prosecuting, said attempts were made to burn the balaclavas and other evidence and DNA linked the material to both Maskeen and Hussain.

None of the money had been recovered. In early May taxi driver Mr Rahman, an Afghan national who had only been in the UK for a short time, was forced by Hussain to drive Maskeen and other men to several locations in the Greater Manchester.

On his return Mr Rahman was asked about some money by Hussain and Maskeen and threatened with a knife and bundled into the boot of his car and taken to a cash point and told to take out £500.

The next day the terrified taxi driver was told to withdraw another £500 and later forced to hand over £700 from his home and told he "would be killed if he told the police".

All three defendants had previous convictions and Maskeen had five convictions relating to robbery, attempted robbery and grievous bodily harm, and Ahmed offences of affray and assault.

Hussain had been jailed for dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice.