Two men have been jailed for carrying out a terrifying robbery at a County Durham petrol station where a lone-female worker was sprayed in the face with an unknown liquid.
Callum Grice, 24, and Alan Lawrence, 32, raided the Esso petrol station on Stockton Road in Seaham in the early hours of January 23, before making off with a bag full of cigarettes, vapes, and around £200 cash from two tills. Lawrence, who took a lead role in the robbery, sprayed the lone-female shop worker in the face with an "unknown liquid" during the incident, leaving her terrified it was a dangerous substance.
Lawrence pleaded guilty to having an offensive weapon, namely a bottle containing ammonia, at a previous hearing on the basis that he did not accept the substance was ammonia, but in fact "hand sanitiser". Grice, who played a "walk-on part", in the robbery, was holding a baton and stood in the doorway of the station during the incident. Both men appeared at Durham Crown Court on Thursday, via link from HMP Durham to be sentenced for robbery. Grice was also sentenced for possessing a prohibited weapon, with Lawrence also being sentenced for possession of an imitation firearm.
