An armed robber who shot the manager of a jewellery shop after making off with £50,000 worth of his goods has failed in an Appeal Court challenge against his conviction.

Darren Prior was blasted at close range as he ran after a hooded robber who held up his jewellery store in Horsham.

He survived because the bullet hit a mobile phone he was carrying in his jacket pocket.

Mr Prior was chasing Sean Bertrand Henry, 37, after the raid on Amore Jewellers in Pirries Place, Horsham, on September 22, 2005.

CCTV footage of the raid was shown on the BBC’s Crimewatch show.

It resulted in two prison officers, who had overseen Henry serving a term for a murder committed when he was 18, coming forward and identifying him.

Henry, of no fixed address, was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment for public protection – almost identical to a life term – at Lewes Crown Court on May 31 last year.

He was convicted of attempted murder, robbery and possession of a firearm and was ordered to serve at least 15 years behind bars before he could even ask for parole.

But Henry appealed against his conviction before Lord Justice Stanley Burnton, Mr Justice Royce and Judge Martin Stephens QC at the Criminal Appeal Court in London.

Henry argued his trial was unfair because hearsay evidence had been allowed to go before the jury.

However, Mr Justice Royce, giving the judgment of the court, ruled there was no merit in his challenge to the verdicts and refused him permission to appeal.

Last night, The Argus contacted Mr Prior.

He declined to comment on the appeal but admitted he still carried his phone in his pocket. He said: “It’s something I’ve always done.”