Shocking moment masked gang threatens elderly shopkeeper with a gun and tries to rip out the till before making off with thousands of pounds of goods from the cigarette counter in terrifying robbery

This is the shocking moment a masked gang threaten an elderly shopkeeper with a gun and attempt to rip out the till in a terrifying robbery.

CCTV footage shows the three masked robbers charge into a Deepak Foodstore in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire, and leave with thousands of pounds worth of goods from the cigarette counter.

The trio, all armed and wearing balaclavas, can be seen making a beeline for the counter whilst aiming a BB gun at the 76-year-old shop owner and threatening him with a knife.

One of them then restrains the victim, who feared for his life not knowing that the gun was fake, while the other two unsuccessfully attempt to rip out the till.

Frustrated, the gang then trash the corner shop before ransacking its cigarette counter and fleeing in a getaway car. 

Following the attack, the shop owner now anxiously watches his CCTV every time someone enters his shop, Nottingham Crown Court was told on Thursday, April 19, as the robbers were put before a judge to answer for their crime.

The three thugs - Callum Groves, Joshua Woods and Jack Weston - were jailed for a combined 12-and-a-half years.

A police investigation launched in the aftermath of the robbery tracked the gang across the county border into Leicestershire, where the three men lived.

Woods was the first of the trio to be tracked down, with officers raiding his home and seizing a BB gun that had been sprayed black to look like a real firearm. In the following weeks, detectives also found Groves and Weston.

Woods, 29, of Chilcombe Walk, Leicester, a father of two daughters, aged nine and five, was jailed for four years and three months.

Matt Hayes, his barrister said: 'There is evidence in this case that drugs are a feature in Mr Woods' life. He was facing financial pressure and money was needed and he involved himself in this enterprise and now he must face the consequences. He has the support of his family and employer.'

Groves, a 25-year-old father-of-two, of Hartshorn Close, Thurmaston, Leicester, was sent to prison for four years, his sentence being slightly less as he pleaded guilty at an earlier opportunity.

Laura Pitman, mitigating, said: 'Everyone who knows him and loves him has been shocked to the core, particularly Mr Groves' mother.

'She works in a very important job in the NHS and when she came to discover her son had been arrested and what for, it changed her life forever. They understand he has got to be punished as does he. Against a background of financial pressures he carried out this disgusting offence out of desperation..'

Weston, 23, of Cuffling Drive, Leicester, was also handed a four-year and three-month prison term.

Lucky Thandi, his barrister, said: 'He is realistic and knows he is looking at a custodial sentence of some length. He has never been arrested by the police before. It's plain this was not a plan of his making.'

Detective Sergeant Nathan Bingham, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "Groves', Weston's and Woods' actions that evening were cowardly and appalling in equal measure.

The victim only sustained minor injuries after being restrained by one of the group and feared he could be shot and killed - not knowing the gun was a fake.