July 11, 2016 1.41 pm This story is over 92 months old

Caught on camera: Grantham man pleads guilty to armed robbery

A Grantham man, along with a joint assailant, has been convicted for three counts of armed robbery. The two men who plotted to commit armed robberies in Orpington in the Greater London area have been convicted at Croydon Crown Court. Scott Smith, 38 of New Beacon Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, and Paul Brown, 38 of Isabella…

A Grantham man, along with a joint assailant, has been convicted for three counts of armed robbery.

The two men who plotted to commit armed robberies in Orpington in the Greater London area have been convicted at Croydon Crown Court.

Scott Smith, 38 of New Beacon Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, and Paul Brown, 38 of Isabella Drive, Orpington pleaded guilty to three counts of armed robbery.

The offences, which took place in the Bromley area, started with the robbery of a sub-post office on Crofton Road in Orpington at around 5.20pm on December 8, 2015.

Brown approached the post office counter and threatened staff with a handgun. Cash totalling £695 was stolen.

On this occasion, Smith was armed with what is believed to have been a sawn-off shotgun. They threatened the staff in the shop and demanded money from the till before stealing £400 in cash.

The third robbery took place at 9.20pm on Saturday, February 13. The two robbers entered the Co-Operative Store on Crescent Way in Orpington armed with a sawn-off shot gun, taking £200 from the till.

Detectives from the Flying Squad launched an investigation into the series of crimes, resulting in the arrest of the men on Tuesday, March 8.

They were taken to Bromley police station where they were subsequently charged with the three counts of armed robbery.

Detective Sergeant Gary Ferguson, of the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “We were determined to catch Smith and Brown quickly as their crimes included serious threats of extreme violence towards innocent members of the public.”

Both men will be sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Friday, August 12.