A NEWSAGENT was held up by two men – one with a knife – and then they both held knives to threaten building workers when their getaway car ran out of petrol.

A 13-year-old girl was also threatened on her way to school in the incident near Wrexham in which the men were said to have been high on drugs.

Breck John Williams, 26, of Ffordd Llanerch, Penycae, was jailed for 24 months after admitting having a knife, affray, theft and threatening behaviour.

Robert Graham Jones, 26, of Plas Madoc, Acrefair, was sent to prison for 15 months after admitting theft, possessing a lock knife and affray.

Both men were also sentenced for having an offensive weapon – a smashed wine bottle – at the building site.

But Jones will serve five years and three months after being found guilty by a jury last week of drug dealing, for which he was sentenced to four years.

Caernarfon Crown Court was told that at Christmas two years ago he had been arrested when hiding in a wood at Froncysyllte wearing only a T-shirt during a search by police after a car crash.

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Rogers newsagents in Rhosymedre. Picture taken after raid on the shop on October 3. 

Nearby were crack cocaine, cocaine and heroin worth as much as £5,600. He was a street dealer, said Judge Huw Rees, and £2,700 was found in his jacket.

Describing the raid on the newsagents on October 3, prosecutor Ryan Rothwell said Williams had admitted possessing a knife there and both men having the broken wine bottle at the building site.

Judge Rees, who believed the charges should have reflected that knives were used to threaten, rather than that they had been merely in the possession of the men, said Williams had held the lock knife upwards towards the newsagent, Rasaratnam Shahjahan, at Rogers Newsagents in Rhosymedre, near Wrexham.

Mr Rothwell said five minutes after leaving the newsagents the pair's car had run out of petrol.

They had gone on to the building site and demanded fuel from Dylan Jones, who described Williams as "a man possessed".

Mr Jones was threatened with a knife and a threat was made to smash up a vehicle with a metal bar.

Williams punched Mr Jones, who hit him back. They were picked up by the defendant Jones' girlfriend in a car then, later that day they were arrested hiding in an attic of a house at Rhos. Both men had previous offences for violence and dishonesty.

John Wyn Williams, defending Williams, said he had been "high on drugs" and wished to apologise. Williams described his behaviour as "stupid and dangerous".

For Jones, barrister Andrew Smith said he had been homeless and unemployed but on release hoped to obtain employment as a window fitter.

Judge Rees said in the shop Williams had produced a knife and Jones had one but did not take it out of his pocket.

At the building site, where there were three workers, both men pulled out knives, Williams threatening with a stabbing motion.

He had also smashed a wine bottle against a wall and held it towards Mr Jones.

"A 13-year-old girl in school uniform passed by and both of you went towards her, at one stage holding up the knives."

The judge said lone shopkeepers would be protected by the courts.

"This serious offending was the result of taking class A drugs and it affected innocent people."