Terence Cole, 61, jailed for bank robbery and attempted robberies

Terence Cole, 61, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after being convicted of six attempted robberies and one robbery.

The offences took place between November 23 and December 3 last year.

The spree included a robbery at the Royal Bank of Scotland on High Street, Prescot on Friday, November 23 during which a "small amount of cash" was stolen.

On the same day, Cole also attempted a robbery at Lloyds on Eccleston Street during which nothing was stolen.

We are welcoming the sentencing of a Kensington man to eight years in prison (plus an extra four years on an extended licence) for a series of attempted business robberies in November last year.

Cole, of Botanic Road, Kensington, Liverpool was arrested on Friday, December 7 2018 following enquiries into a series of offences.

Cole was also convicted of attempted robberies at Halifax in Allerton Road, Liverpool and at TSB in Smithdown Place, Allerton, Liverpool on Wednesday, November 21.

He also attempted a robbery on Thursday 22 at Santander in Derby Road, Huyton and at William Hill in Dale Street, Liverpool.

And on Monday, December 3 he attempted a robbery at HSBC in Oxford Street, Liverpool.

Nothing was taken in any of those incidents.

Cole was jailed for eight years and also given an extra four years on an extended licence.

Detective Inspector Lisa Ryan said: “It is pleasing to see that the courts have dealt with Cole in a way which reflects the serious nature of robberies targeting any business across Merseyside.

“Although, in the vast majority of this spate of incidents, nothing was stolen, to be the member of staff who is threatened or the passer-by witnessing the crime can be extremely distressing and leave long-standing psychological scars.

“We work closely with businesses in sharing information and pursuing those who attempt to steal money and other items through their own greed and desperation. Thankfully, Cole has been removed from the streets for the foreseeable future and we will continue to take positive action to keep businesses and the public safe."

• Anyone with information robbery is asked to contact 999 if a crime is in progress, or pass information via social media @MerPolCC, call 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. People can also use crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information.