Two armed robbers have been jailed after carrying out terrifying bank raids across Birmingham, which saw staff and customers threatened with an imitation gun.
Abdul Ghaffar was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to three bank robberies and three counts of possessing an imitation firearm. His accomplice in the second robbery David Russell was sentenced to 11 years after being found guilty.
Birmingham Crown Court heard Ghaffar, 26, first targeted a busy Barclays bank on Washwood Heath Road when he burst into the branch wearing a balaclava on May 19. He threatened a cashier with an imitation handgun, and ordered her to hand over money, before escaping in a taxi.
The second raid took place at Lloyds Bank on Bordesley Green Road on May 26.
