Two men jailed for bank robbery in Knutsford

Two men from Knutsford have been sentenced following a robbery at a bank in the town.

Paul Broughton, 43, from Shaw Drive, Knutsford pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an imitation firearm at an earlier hearing.

Jason Jenyons, 51, from Overfields, Knutsford also pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an imitation firearm.

Both were sentenced on Wednesday 10 November.

Broughton was sentenced to 12 years in prison while Jenyons was sentenced to 15 years in prison – both with an extended three year licence added on.

The charges relate to a robbery that took place at the NatWest in King Street, Knutsford, which occurred at 12.40pm on Friday 5 March 2021.

One of the managers had been standing outside the bank monitoring customers coming in when he was shoved from behind and saw a man holding what looked like a handgun.

He attempted to get into a safe room but was grabbed and forced into the banking hall.

A second man was by the exit and appeared to be the look out. Both men were wearing motorbike helmets.

The man with the gun demanded money from a cashier and a quantity of cash was put into a freezer bag he was holding.

There was one customer in the bank at the time who managed to get into an interview room to keep herself safe.

The cashier in the meantime had managed to put a dye pack into the freezer bag, which the offender was putting cash in to.

A staff member who was in the back office noticed the disturbance and saw a man with a gun on CCTV. She activated the panic button and called police.

At some point the dye pack activated which would have dyed the notes in the freezer bag.

Jenyons and Broughton both fled the scene with £14,100, and got onto a motorbike parked up in Old Market Place before riding onto Moorside.

Detectives began an investigation and identified Jenyons as a suspect.

He was arrested on 8 March and a search of his address led to the discovery of a large amount of cash in various places including his bedroom and on himself.

A lot of the cash had been tainted with red dye and some of the cash had been found in a container of liquid.

The dye pack was also recovered in the search along with other incriminating evidence. He was later charged with robbery and possession of an imitation firearm.

Officer discovered a mobile phone belonging to Jenyons was in the process of an outgoing call to a mobile number which was linked to Broughton.

Further enquiries put them together shortly after the robbery and Broughton was arrested on Monday 8 March.

He was found to be in possession of £400 cash, which had a slight red tinge on some of the notes.

Broughton was then charged with robbery and possession of an imitation firearm.

DS Rob McCubbin said: “The two men terrified those present in the bank and they are still coming to terms with their shocking ordeal.

“Bank robberies are very serious crimes and thankfully not so common. Jenyons and Broughton are now discovering the enormity of their actions and just how gravely the courts deem this type of crime to be.

“I’d like to thank all the witnesses and victims for coming forward and helping us to put these two men behind bars. The same goes for the team of detectives, officers and staff who were integral in investigating and successfully bringing it to the courts. This goes to show how the community and the Constabulary works together to relentlessly pursue criminals and bring them to justice and serves as a warning to those intent on committing crime.”