Men charged after armed raids (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Men charged after armed raids

3:30pm Tuesday 31st January 2012 in Wiltshire

Two men have been charged with armed robbery after raids in Corsham and Devizes last year.

George Davis-Ball, 19, from Westmead Lane, Chippenham and Samuel Bryant, 22, from Cornflower Way, Melksham, have been charged with robbing William Hill bookmakers in Corsham on February 23 last year and the Cheltenham & Gloucester on March 9.

The pair have been bailed and will appear at North West Wiltshire Magistrates' Court in Chippenham on Friday.

The first raid came at 7.30pm when a man entered a branch of William Hill in Newlands wearing a balaclava and armed with what appeared to be a small handgun.

He handed staff a yellow plastic bag and instructed them to empty the till before leaving a short time later. Another man was seen standing in the doorway of the shop before they both left the scene.

Around £2,000 in cash was stolen from the Cheltenham & Gloucester in Wine Street, Devizes shortly after 2.30pm when two men walked in, handed over a bag and asked the cashier to fill it with money before showing her what appeared to be a small black handgun.

The two accused were first arrested on March 25 last year and two further suspects were arrested in August but later released with no further action being taken.