Third ‘Rhallt fugitive' admits bank robbery

 

The theft in May sparked a huge manhunt which culminated in a dramatic chase across fields on the Rhallt and had the town glued to mywelshpool for hours.

 

Robert Court, 23, from Solihull, west Midlands, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced alongside Mark Ricardo Lawlor, 26, from Solihull, and Micquel Daniel France, 24, from the Birmingham area, who had previously pleaded guilty.

 

Judge Rhys Rowlands was told Court had also pleaded guilty to a separate robbery and was awaiting sentencing.

 

Incredibly, France was a serving prisoner on day release from Sudbury prison when the robbery took place. Mold Crown Court heard that he was collected from the prison, and he and Lawlor robbed the guard after pushing him to the floor, while Court was said to have been the getaway driver.

 

The court was told France had received a 12-year sentence for attempted murder in 2006, and Lawlor had received a 12-year sentence in 2004 for robbery and possession of a firearm when a security officer was attacked outside a west Midlands supermarket.

 

Police pursued the robbers across Montgomeryshire before they abandoned their car at the Flash and set off on foot. Despite dozens of police officers searching for them (pictured), it was a Rhallt farmer that stumbled across the trio who again fled on foot. One was caught that day, another was caught after two days and Court was picked up some time later.