by Geoff Bennett

A gang who were behind five armed robberies of Bristol convenience stores over three days have been jailed for 13 years between them.

Steven Yus, Levin Cook and Paul Mackay were members of an organised gang who brandished weapons at terrified shop staff before grabbing cash from the till, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Cook also admitted being involved in a burglary of a woman in St George.

Yus, 17, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to five robberies and attempted theft and was jailed for three years and 10 months.

Cook, 18, also of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to three robberies and asked for burglary, taking a vehicle without consent and driving while disqualified to be considered. He was jailed for six years.

Mackay, 25, also of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to one robbery and was jailed for four years.

The three were involved in five armed robberies over three days in March.

On the first day Yus and Cook robbed the Spar shop in Warmley, in which an intruder armed with metal bars jumped over the counter and screamed at staff: "Open the till or I'll hit you."

They grabbed £540 and six packets of cigarettes and left, "laughing like hyenas", leaving staff shocked and upset.

The next day Yus robbed the McColls store in Oldland Common, when a balaclava-clad intruder brandishing a hand gun told staff to get on the floor.

He took £520 and one store assistant's purse that contained £30 and two credit cards.

Two days later Yus and Cook helped rob Avon Gold Premier Stores in Keynsham, where, again, balaclava-wearing intruders armed with a gun and sword demanded the till be opened and took £276.

On the same day Yus and Cook were involved in a raid at McColls in Brislington, where the raiders snatched £1,681.

Yus and Mackay also robbed the Jones convenience store in Wick, in which a gunman and knifeman took £2,255 from the till, thanked their victims and left in a getaway car.

The court heard Mackay lost his job as a scaffolder a month before the robbery.

"That led to him making this colossal lack of judgement for agreeing to drive a car," said Jason Taylor, defending.

"He had a partner with children aged two and three and he was finding he could not provide for them, so he naively agreed to earn easy money."

Yus also tried to grab a £10 note from the B&Q store in Longwell Green on the first day but fled, dropping the note, and jumped into a waiting getaway car.

But Mr Taylor said Yus had shown remorse and was subject to negative peer pressure – as well as finding custody an "eye-opening" experience.

Cook asked the court to take into consideration the burglary in St George.

Raiders barged their way into a woman's home, punched her in the face and grabbed the keys to her Porsche Boxster car before hitting her again and driving off. They abandoned the car in Barton Hill minutes later.

The woman needed 10 stitches to a split lip and treatment for a loosened tooth and bloody nose.

Catherine Spedding, defending Cook, told the court he had dyslexia and severe ADHD but medication helped him to understand the consequences of his actions.

Police traced the robbers by CCTV footage of the raids, successful identification by victims and forensic evidence.

Cook has previous convictions for motoring offences and robbery, Mackay a previous conviction for robbery and Yus for burglary and motoring offences.

But the judge, Neil Ford QC, concluded that, in law, none could be seen as dangerous offenders.

Recorder Ford lifted youth reporting restrictions after an application by the Bristol Evening Post in the name of public interest. He told the men: "I'm dealing with you all for particularly grave and unpleasant offences."