Two robbers who held up a cash-in-transit van have been jailed for four years each.

Billy Kevin Brown, 32 and John Hayward, 45, told the two cash delivery men they had guns and demanded they handed over the money at the Waitrose in High Street, Eastbourne, on April 30 last year.

The two staff members fought back and in doing so caused the pair’s caps and glasses, which they were using as disguises, to fall off.

They also dropped a bag which had a hammer in it. As a result they did not get any money and were later arrested.

Brown, of Coronation Gardens, Battle, and Hayward, of Sutton Avenue, Seaford, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal at Guildford Crown Court on Wednesday (July 30).

They were given four years in prison each along with serious crime prevention orders.

Detective Sergeant Dave Tye said: "These men tried to steal a lot of money and threatened two people going about their everyday jobs. Shoppers at Waitrose saw what happened and were very scared by what they saw.

“The sentences reflect the seriousness of the crime committed by these men.

“The serious crime prevention orders given by the judge are designed to disrupt their potential criminal activities for five years after they are be released from prison. “This will assist the police in preventing further offending by these two men in the future and keeping the people of Sussex safer."