A group of five armed robbers have been jailed at the Old Bailey.

CCTV showing robbery at the Santander Bank in Kentish Town Road, NW5 on 17 September 2015. CCTV shows Waterman (with the gun) along with either Hinge or Marsden. (The identity of the second robber inside the premises wasn’t established; since it was not possible to confirm which of the pair went into the bank with Waterman and which was the driver. )

In the summer of 2015, officers from the Met’s Flying Squad launched an investigation into a series of cash in transit robberies on security custodians in north London.

A total of around £240,000 was stolen in the 15 robberies, which were carried out by various members of the group across Enfield, Haringey and Camden.

During one of the robberies – at Sainsbury’s in Lordship Lane, N17 on 22 August 2015 – shots were discharged from a handgun, subsequently identified as a blank firing pistol.

The weapon was also used to threaten a guard during a robbery at the Santander Bank in Kentish Town Road, NW5 on 17 September 2015.

As a result of the police investigation, Flying Squad officers were waiting for two of the suspects as they prepared to commit a robbery at around 04:00hrs on 31 October 2015 in Whymark Avenue. Wood Green. A handgun was recovered from the car in which the suspects had been sitting.

Ashley Waterman, 28 (5.6.88) of Silverdale Close, Northolt was arrested during the police operation in Whymark Avenue along with Daniel Marsden, 31 (30.5.85) of Whitley Close, Irthlingborough, Northants.

Waterman pleaded guilty to seven counts of conspiracy to rob between 24 May and 31 October 2015.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm during the robberies on 22 August and 17 September as well as on the morning of his arrest. A further seven charges of conspiracy to rob will lie on file.

He was jailed on Monday, 10 October, for 15 years and 8 months.

Marsden pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob, relating to the robbery on 17 September in which a firearm was seen. He was also found guilty, following a trial at the Old Bailey, of possession of an imitation firearm. He was jailed for 14 years on 12 September.

Subsequent inquiries led to three further members of the group being arrested.

Paul Hinge, 28 (02.08.88) of Fladbury Road, N15 pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob, relating to the same robbery on 17 September and a second robbery in St Marks Road, Enfield on 4 September 2015. He was sentenced on 12 September to four years and four months’ imprisonment.

Michael Palmer, 24 (26.10.91) of Lansdowne Road, N17 pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob, relating to the robbery in Lordship Lane during which shots were fired. He was sentenced on 12 September to 2 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.

Sheldon Hussey, 26 (11.12.89) of Plevna Crescent, N15 pleaded guilty to robbery at Dearsley Road, Enfield on 7 October 2015. He was sentenced on 12 September to 2 years and 10 months’ imprisonment.

The first of the seven offences to which Waterman entered guilty pleas took place outside a Morrison’s store in Stamford Hill on 9 July 2015. He then went on to commit the two robberies in which a firearm was seen or used, and the offence in St Mark’s Road for which Hinge was convicted.

He pleaded guilty to further robberies on 30 September in West Green Road, N15 and to the robbery in Dearsley Road on 7 October for which Hussey was convicted.

Waterman’s luck began to run out on 22 October, when he robbed an empty cash box at Southbury Leisure Park, Enfield, and he was brought to justice following his arrest on 31 October 2015.