Armed robbers throw axe at police officers during chase that ended very badly

A Cheltenham man was one of two robbers who threw an axe at a police car during a long police chase through Worcestershire in a desperate and ultimately failed attempt to avoid arrest. Christopher Lamb, 27, of Vittoria Walk, Cheltenham, and Christopher Keylock, 56, of Evesham Road, Cleeve Prior, carried out two armed robberies and one attempted robbery at the Post Office in Offenham, near Evesham, and the Co-op store in nearby Honeybourne on March 30.

A lengthy pursuit followed which saw police chase the men from near Evesham to Ledbury. During the pursuit, an axe was thrown from the passenger seat of the car that West Mercia Police officers were chasing. The getaway car was successfully stopped with a stinger that burst the tyres of their vehicle and brought them to a halt.

The pair were sentenced to a total of almost ten years for robbery and attempted robbery at Worcester Crown Court. Lamb was sentenced on August 15 to six years for one count of robbery and one of attempt robbery to run concurrently.

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He was also convicted of possession of a knife or blade in a public place for which he was sentenced to four months to run concurrently, and criminal damage which had no separate penalty. A charge of affray was ordered to lie on file.

Meanwhile, Keylock was sentenced to 31 months for each of his robbery and attempt robbery convictions to run concurrently on November 6. He was further convicted of driving a motor vehicle dangerously for which he was given a 12-month sentence to run consecutively, bringing his total sentence to 43 months, and disqualified from driving for 52 months.

Detective Inspector Dave Knight, of South Worcestershire CID, said: “We are pleased to get convictions for this pair of armed robbers who are now behind bars.

“They were caught following great work by our OPU officers who pursued them from near to Evesham right across the county towards Eastnor Castle in Ledbury. During the pursuit a masked offender (Lamb) launched an axe at the pursuing police vehicles from the passenger seat, but this did not deter them, and they successfully stopped and arrested them.”