Three men have been jailed after armed cops tracked a team of criminals and swooped as they were about to raid a jewellers in Cheshire.

Police stopped the men in a stolen car in Knutsford and found they had a 'robbers' kit' including balaclavas, gloves, machetes, a sledgehammer and a metal grid.

The officers forced the men out of the car and all three were injured during a struggle as they were arrested at gunpoint.

When police later raided their homes, they recovered a revolver from the house of one of the three, David Whitehead, 31 - who claimed it was for his own personal safety.



Who else has beeen locked up in June? Sentences and photo gallery

Whitehead, of Tootal Drive, Salford, pleaded guilty at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, to possession of a firearm without a certificate and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Christopher Winder, 30, of Kingford Street, Salford, and Stephen Farrell, 30, of Mark Avenue, Pendleton, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery.



Whitehead was jailed for 10 years and four months. Winder and Farrell both received indeterminate sentences for public protection. They must serve a minimum of four years in prison before they can apply for parole.

The car, a grey Honda Civic, was stolen from a house on Wild Arum Close, Wigan, on March 20.



Two days later, surveillance officers from GMP's robbery unit spotted Winder dressed in dark clothing in the Weaste area of Salford. He was seen on a mobile phone and later met Whitehead and Farrell at Lightoaks Park, Salford.



The trio got into the stolen Honda, which by now had new plates, and drove off.



Officers followed the car and stopped it at about 5pm in Knutsford town centre.



As part of the investigation, officers searched the homes of each of the three men involved and recovered cannabis, surveillance equipment and recordings and a knuckle duster from Winder's home.



The .22 revolver was found at Whitehead's house.



Detective Inspector Tony Heslop, of the Force Robbery Unit, said: "The weapons, clothing and surveillance notes we recovered shows we disrupted a well-orchestrated plan to carry out robberies in the Greater Manchester and surrounding areas.



"These three men have now admitted that it was their intention to carry out a robbery at a jewellers and for anyone who was been subjected to this sort of violent and terrifying robbery, they will understand why it is so important men like this are locked up where they can cause no more harm.



"Thanks to the efforts and hard work of officers from the Robbery Unit we were able to prevent any further attacks and stop these criminals in their tracks. The streets of Greater Manchester and Cheshire are certainly a lot safer now these three criminals are behind bars."



Who else has beeen locked up in June? Sentences and photo gallery