Second life sentence for gunman in Shropshire bank raid terror

Martin Dawson had denied committing an armed robbery in June at Newport's branch of the Britannia and another in Cheshire. But yesterday a jury at Stafford Crown Court took just over an hour to convict the 51-year-old after a seven-day trial.

He was serving a life sentence for armed robbery before disappearing from Sudbury open jail days before the raid.

Dawson, of no fixed abode, was today given a second life sentence with a minimum term of nine years by Mrs Justice Thirlwall, who branded him "a danger to the public".

Addressing her sentencing remarks to Dawson - who was not in court for the verdict or sentencing - she said: "There is no reliable estimate as to when you will cease to be a danger.

"I have no hesitation in finding the appropriate sentence is one of life imprisonment. I do not know if you will ever have parole."

Ex-soldier Dawson, who had a fascination for guns, had served 13 years in custody before he disappeared from Sudbury open prison near Burton last June.

Dawson was also found guilty of robbing the Macclesfield branch of the Britannia days after the Newport raid and two related firearms offences.

He got away with just under £8,000 from his Saturday morning raid in Newport on June 29 last year.

The trial was shown CCTV footage of a man wearing dark sunglasses twice on the point of entering the Britannia, now part of the Co-operative Bank, and changing his mind.

At 11.21am he went in carrying an orange bag and holding a realistic-looking handgun.

He pointed an imitation gun at cashier Carol Jessup and told her: "If you don't give me the money, I'll shoot you."

Ms Jessup and colleague Karen Thornton put notes in the bag and Dawson walked out calmly.

The raid was over in just 30 seconds and took place five days after Dawson absconded from Sudbury open prison, where he had been held for 13 years for armed robberies.

The Newport hold-up was twice featured on TV's Crimewatch programme's "Most Wanted" gallery.

On August 29 Dawson carried out a "carbon copy" robbery in Macclesfield and took more than £7,000.

After police appeals he was eventually arrested in October in Stoke-on-Trent.

The jury heard that cashiers at both Britannia branches had picked out Dawson as the robber in a video identification parade organised by the police.

And a forensic imaging expert, Miss Jacqueline Pestell, said she had examined still pictures from the CCTV footage of the two robberies and compared them with photos of the defendant.

"I could find no significant differences," she said.

But the trial had heard Dawson, a former soldier, claim that he was not the man responsible.

He told the court he could not recall where he was on June 29 last year, the day of the Newport robbery.

He added: "It was a very confused time."